A Temple Out of Time
by iEvenstarEstel
Summary: Connor and Abby face new challenges as they make a life together once again trapped out of their time on the other side of an anomaly.
1. Chapter 1

A Temple Out of Time  
2013 Evenstar Estel

Over the years Abby had become used to little sleep. When she and Connor had been stranded in the Cretaceous Era and had slept in short shifts for an entire year, she'd become adept at keeping herself awake no matter how exhausted her mind and body had been. It had taken nearly three years before she and Connor both could lay down in bed at the end of the day and sleep through the night without either one waking up from nightmares or confused about where they were. Circumstances had changed since they'd found those peaceful nights and now Abby lay awake in bed, unable to quiet her mind.

They'd been in their new home for just a little over ten months and while their beginning in their new time had been harrowing in an all together different manner than the Cretaceous, much like then, they'd managed, together. As was with all aspects of their lives, they'd survived and made their way. Abby thanked the powers that be she had Connor. The soft, even rhythm of his breath across the skin of her chest was a comfort. He lay sound asleep in her arms with his ear to her heart and an arm secured around her waist. He was faring better than she. While she'd been more adept to a life of survival outdoors, Connor was quite adaptable to living in the Victorian Era. The year was 1887 and both Connor and Abby knew that in a year's time Jack the Ripper would begin to haunt Whitechapel while London lived in terror. That was one of many things that kept Abby up at night.

It had all begun when they'd been in Vancouver a year after Connor's last visit to Evan Cross and the Canadian team where they'd encountered each other at the anomaly junction and all hell had broken loose. Since then the two ARCs had been researching and working in tandem to manage the phenomenon and control creature incursions. Evan, Connor and Toby were coming up with brilliant new technologies and the Temples had come to British Columbia so the trio could test their new inventions in the field and perfect them.

There really wasn't anyone to blame for them getting stranded. The anomaly had opened on the train tracks below the Sea to Sky Highway and there'd been no real way to get them or their gear down to it other than to repel down the rock face. Even though the cliff sides had been strengthened and reinforced with the highway's improvement in time for the Winter Olympics in 2010, they'd still been prone to rock slides The highway was always busy and even finding a safe place to park their vehicles was a challenge. In the end, they'd had to block off part of a lane. Connor and Abby had been the first to volunteer. It wasn't out of their realm of experience, having had to do similar in the Cretaceous as well as at other times. They secured themselves into the harnesses Evan had brought, tethered the rope to the SUV and went over the edge. It was mere moments later that the rock slide happened, sending Abby careening towards the open anomaly. Connor didn't hesitate and dove after her. They both passed through, landing on the other side in a puddle of mud while rain fell around them. They appeared to be in a park and knew they were at least in civilization judging by the benches present, the path and the street lamps at the end of the lane. It was the middle of the night and there wasn't a sound save for the falling rain.

Fortunately their ropes were still attached and when they felt the others attempting to pull them back they held on and began to ascend up the ten foot space between the ground and the anomaly. When the blasted thing closed, the ropes were cut and they fell back to the ground. They knew they were lost. They hadn't much on them save for the clothes on their back, Connor with his wallet, both of them with their mobile phones and a few other bits and bobs in their pockets. Abby was stunned speechless while Connor stared blankly at the place where the anomaly had been.

At length the cold and the rain prompted them to seek out shelter and they spent their first night huddled together under a bridge that spanned over the expanse of the end of the path. They barely spoke a word to each other, stupefied that they'd been trapped yet again, unknowing of when or where they were. It was little comfort that they were in the modern world, as no matter where they were, it wasn't home. What did however temper their fears were that they were together. They'd been married a little over two years and in that time they'd cemented their bond as unbreakable. Both knew there was nothing they could not endure so long as they were together.

When dawn came and they ventured out. They soon realized they were more than a century from their own time. Judging by the dress of people they observed and the English they spoke, they concluded they were in Victorian era London. Abby didn't share Connor's relief, but he assured her with with confident grin and a firm kiss to her lips that they'd be okay. With Abby in her 21st century clothing and Connor in the same, they couldn't go out in broad daylight. Despite the growl from their hungry stomachs and the biting chill of the air, they remained hidden until nightfall. Abby huddled against Connor, burying her face at his chest and tried to accept their fate and believe in her husband's assertion that they wouldn't find themselves in despair for long.

Whilst growing up, Connor's mother had been part of the Ladies' Auxiliary under her Church. Their primary function, aside from a chance to socialize on weeknights, was to volunteer and conduct charitable acts. They'd gather secondhand clothing and rent a hall out of which they served hot food as the clothing was distributed to those in need. She'd once boasted that her group had been around for a whole century, though it wasn't the oldest in England. That accolade belonged to one in London and it was to there that Connor and Abby made their way, relying on their knowledge of their London and hoping that they'd find their way. They kept to the shadows, adept at remaining quiet and out of sight by virtue of the skills they'd developed in the Cretaceous.

It was evident enough when they found their sought after location, by virtue of the rough looking people coming and going from the hall adjacent to the Church. They snuck in through the back and scuttled around looking for anything that would suit them to blend in with the times. When the scent of the food hit their noses, the search for clothing was abandoned. They'd not eaten for more than a day and their stomachs were rumbling. Finding fresh bread, goose, potatoes and gravy was irresistible. It was as they were being served that they encountered the woman that would soon become their caretaker and their benefactor.

As she had told Abby after their acquaintance had turned to friendship, Rosemary Davis had fixed her eye on the couple the moment they'd entered the main hall. They'd been quite good at remaining inconspicuous, but not to her well trained eyes. She'd been in the world over seventy years and had spent time in both India and Turkey both before returning home to England to fulfil her life's dream. The two were like lost souls and she knew upon sight that they were a special pair. It was obvious they were married, both by their closeness and the manner with which they seemed to communicate without words. It had been that way with her own husband before he'd been lost to illness some twenty years earlier. As she'd served them food she'd begun asking questions. She offered them a room at the Church to spend the night and by the next day had brought them fresh clothing that hadn't been mixed with those given out to the vagrants that came to the hall's door.

Things seemed to evolve strangely from that moment on. At least, it seemed strange to Connor and Abby, that someone wanted to them under her wing and give their help so freely. They were in different times for certain. Mrs. Davis took an immediate and generous liking to the lost pair and offered them sanctuary if they were willing to work. The Church was in need of a verger and Connor would do nicely. He was young with a strong back and Mrs. Davis's recommendation to the Vicar had secured the young couple a roof over their heads and meals to fill their stomachs. The pay was meagre, but it bought them the essentials they needed.

Their first two months were tenuous and unhappy however. Both were homesick, both angry with themselves for getting trapped in the past for the second time in their lives, and despairing of their situation. Things were tense between them, save for moments when they gave in to either sorrow or want. Much like in their time in the Cretaceous, they felt they had to keep their wits about them and keep level heads. It was altogether exhausting both mentally and physically.

Abby's days were spent primarily cleaning both the Church and the adjacent hall, serving as a maid for all intents and purposes. Half her weeknights were spent with Mrs. Davis doing work with the Auxiliary. Connor meanwhile served as caretaker to the Church. It became quite apparent to the older woman that her charges were not suited to the environment in which they had been placed. She knew they were eternally grateful for the charity, but they were meant for a great deal more.

Connor's intelligence and knowledge of a variety of sciences and mathematics shone through at the most inopportune times. Gentlemen thought him a simple man, a mere labourer, but when he corrected them most succinctly by interrupting their conversations after Sunday service, patrons began complaining that the common man was overstepping his bounds. It never did sit well with Connor to be put down or cast aside. That had been his lot most of his life and since growing into the man he'd become it wounded him to be thrown back to the role of essentially the bullied geek who was never given a chance to show his brilliance.

Mrs. Davis saw well enough how brilliant he was, and thought the same of his wife. Abby had shown remarkable skill in diagnosing and tending to people's ailments. She had a natural ability to read people and seemed to have a great deal of knowledge about animals and humans alike. She also ruffled quite a few feathers with the society ladies who were merely performing their good Christian duty by helping the poor. Abby never could hold her tongue when it came to the rights of the downtrodden as well as with her views on a woman's place. She went against the grain of those who obeyed their husbands, submitted to their needs, and never took an interest in their business or whether they had a penchant for philandering. In truth she also made several of them jealous. Abby was brimming with confidence, even though she was out of whatever her natural environment was, and furthermore she and her husband seemed exceedingly devoted to each other.

Abby noticed that while most of the married couples she encountered were often grounded on mutual admiration and even love, rarely did they seem to exude the passion that she and Connor did, even though it could be said they were going through a rough patch. Some marriages Abby encountered, she felt the women were being stifled and ground down to shadows of who they could have been without all their potential squandered. As the weeks passed and Connor and Abby settled, it became increasingly evident that the pair were positively burning with passion for each other and that alone garnished Abby no friends.

The day Mrs. Davis decided that Connor and Abby Temple would quit their employment with the Church came as shock to the couple. To be told that they would have to leave had initially been devastating, until the old woman's smirk made it known she has something up her sleeve. They were taken from one neightbourhood out to another by a expensively fashioned cab with Mrs. Davis and arrived late in the day at a handsome house with over an acre of grounds to itself.

From that point on it seemed as if the heavens had opened and blessed The Temples. Mrs. Davis led them through the house where servants curtsied or bowed, where many voices could be heard behind closed doors and where everything was clean and refined. All the while Mrs. Davis's face gave nothing away aside from clearly being very amused with herself. They were shown into a small apartment that was three times the size of their verger's quarters. Before them there was a good sized bed, a desk, table and chairs, a wardrobe, a water closet of its own with a wash basin to stand in and running water at a sink, a fireplace and a large window that looked out on over the garden.

At length Mrs. Davis could contain herself no longer and burst into laughter. Her husband had left her a wealthy woman. She'd not been blessed with children of her own and had decided to turn her empty house into a school for girls. The resident science and mathematics professor longed to retire to the country as he was old and wanted to enjoy his declining years away from the city. That would leave a vacancy that Mrs. Davis insisted Connor fill. Connor, bless him, had nearly passed out and would've toppled over of if Abby hadn't held him up. There was also a place for Abby. Mrs. Davis admired Abby's strong will, her no nonsense manner and her progressive opinions on the aptitude of women. The school was shaping the minds of the future and who better to aid in that than a woman like Abby who had a good heart, a sharp, perspicacious mind and the backbone to support it. The pair could hardly believe their good fortune or the lady's extreme generosity. But, Mrs. Davis was resolute and refused to take no for answer and the pair agreed to begin their roles as educators with the coming term one month from the present date. In the meantime they would observe and learn the workings of the school as it was unconventional in nature. Connor whispered to Abby that it must've been if they wanted him.

The turn of events seemed to make all their woes evaporate over the course of that first hour alone together in their new dwelling space. They'd hardly known what to say or do, aside from allowing things to take a decidedly romantic turn. However, they got no further than hot kisses and caresses when the hallways of the house filled with decidedly feminine voices. A knock came to their door shortly there after and outside stood Louise Forrester. She was as prim and proper as could be. She was as tall as Connor with dark auburn hair tied back in a severe fashion, aging her far beyond her twenty-seven years. She wore dark gray from collar to boot with a lady's watch fastened to her jacket by a silver chain. She wore spectacles on the bridge of her nose and stood with a straight back. For a moment, Abby thought she was looking at Jess, but soon realized the woman lacked her friend's warmth and lighthearted personality. Miss Forrester taught English and History and took both subjects very seriously. She saw any failure of her students to be hers as an instructor. She'd come to bid them to come to dinner.

It was there that Connor and Abby were introduced to the some eighteen students that boarded at the school. They ranged in age from twelve to seventeen. The four who were of age would be leaving at term's end, off to mine their golden future with an allowance from the school for one year, giving them time to find their path in life without the shadow of potential poverty holding them back. That meant there would be four vacancies. It was at this point Connor and Abby learned the unique nature of the school - the girls were all orphans and had been plucked from the orphanages in which they'd been left to come and live at the school. Mrs. Davis had been an orphan herself and were it not for the opportune meeting with the man who would later become her husband, she would have had a very different future indeed.

Many young girls in the orphanages were sent off to the country to work, while others were fostered in London and trained to become maids within a household. In the direst of situation, the girls were sent to workhouses, which were nothing short of a cold, slow death of their little souls, if not their bodies. It was unlikely and rare that any were adopted to be loved and cared for as a daughter. All too often those without opportunity or guidance wound up in Whitechapel and other downtrodden areas of the city, some as barmaids, or more likely as prostitutes, doomed to a life of abuse and degradation.

Rosemary Davis sought to fill a void and she had done so admirably. Her girls came with a reputation for poise and intelligence. They'd been shaped and educated and could afford to pursue whatever future they saw fit, which was as rare as the school itself. In listening to all the details come forth, Abby felt quite a swell of purpose rise within her, something she'd not felt in all their time here. She too had been an orphan and understood all too well the pitfalls and loneliness that accompanied it. She'd spent too much time alone in her life and it had hardened her and broken her heart more times than she cared to allow herself to remember. She'd always managed to keep it together and keep her head on straight because her brother had needed her.

As a child she'd dreamed of going to the Galapagos Islands with a family that loved her, but none never came to claim her, or Jack. She settled on pictures and visiting the zoo, sometimes with her little brother in tow. It wasn't until years later that she'd acknowledged how much her past had shaped her, during that year alone in the Cretaceous with Connor when they'd had nothing but time in which to talk. He'd promised her he'd take her to the Galapagos one day, and she knew he would. Of course now it would take months on a ship instead of hours on a plane but she'd bet anything he'd still try.

Abby sighed. She could tell by the chimes of the grandfather clock echoing in the hall that it was close on two o'clock in the morning, knowing they had to rise shortly after six.

"Abby?" came Connor's voice, barely above a whisper. Her eyes snapped to him and she met his. His hand glided up her body, his touch setting all her nerves to light, and came to rest at her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "You should be asleep, love."

"I know. I've tried. I just can't get my brain to shut up," she replied with a sigh. He sat up and she followed. He placed his hands on her shoulders for a moment before moving them to cup her face.

"That's usually my problem, not yours. Perhaps a sleeping draft..."

Abby snorted. "A sleeping draft? Connor, you're sounding more and more like you belong here."

He shrugged and offered her an apologetic smile. "Still, it might help. I'll never stop missing me XBox, by the way." He kissed her forehead and stroked the apples of her cheeks with his thumbs. She smiled and sighed, ever more weary. "We've got a big day tomorrow, you need your rest. What can I do to help?"

"Nothing. It's okay. I'll nod off eventually."

"I know it's not much, but I'm always good for a cuddle at least."

"What do you mean it's not much? It's my favourite." She pushed him back to the bed so that she could lay her head to his chest and feel his arms around her. She settled and felt calm wash over her as Connor took her hand in his while the other stroked up and down her spine.

"I know for a fact it's not your absolute favourite," he teased, his hand straying down under the covers to give her rear end a squeeze. Abby took her hand from his and smacked his chest and he chuckled warmly.

"Shhh... go to sleep Connor. I'm good now."

"Okay, Abby," he whispered, taking hold of her hand again and settling his arm around her shoulders. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head and she snuggled down, kissing his bare chest and breathing his scent in deeply. "Love you," he spoke again just as she felt herself on the edge of sleep. She smiled and finally relaxed, drifting off to sleep, comforted by her husband's loving embrace and the warmth of his body. Tomorrow promised to be an exciting day and she hoped she had the energy to keep up with the girls. Connor was right. They had a good life here. A happy life. If they were meant to stay in this time and place, then she'd make the very most of it. Maybe it was time to stop thinking about the future a hundred years ahead and think about the future they could make together.

_Are you all ready for another big adventure? I know I've been away for some time. Life got impossibly busy. As it is I'll probably only post one chapter a week, but the good news is I think this'll be upwards of a dozen chapters when done. _

_Now, there'll be a couple of rather saucy M rated chapters towards the beginning. My Connor and Abby love each other very very very much and rather like showing it. But, like An Adventure in the Gambia, the M portions are just small parts of big and important chapters with lots of other events and details, so if it's not your sort of thing, just gloss over it and read the rest of the chapters, if you please._

_I don't mind saying I could really use some encouragement with this one. My muse has been struggling quite a bit, but I think I've got a clever plot with this one and I hope you'll all support me as you always faithfully have. It's very much appreciate!_

_Thank you!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello! Welcome to chapter 2 :) The beginning has a few smutty paragraphs, but the bulk of this chapter is the introduction of a very important character. Enjoy!_

Chapter 2

She stared at his back for some time, admiring the curves of his muscles and each little mole that dotted his skin. He was still sleeping and always difficult to rouse in morning - from sleep, other parts of him always seemed rather awake, even before he was. She'd not had much sleep herself, but what she got had at least been solid and restful. It always was when she was in Connor's arms. The nights they'd not spent together when he'd been in Philip Burton's snare remained dark and unpleasant memories. Since their marriage, they'd not slept apart and Abby wouldn't have had it any other way. She inched in closer, pressing her lips to the top of his spine and gliding her hand up along the side of his ribs. He shuddered and awoke, recognizing her touch.

He turned on to his back and looked up at her through the haze of waking. His hand reached for her and settled on her arm to caress it. Abby smiled at him, turning her hand over to hold his arm as he did her. The closed the distance between them and Connor surrendered to her instantly, never able to resist her when she showed him such tenderness. She coaxed his lips apart with her tongue and kissed him deeper until he moaned and took hold of her by her hips. She parted from him for a moment to straddle his middle and then resumed their kiss, twinning their tongues together and tipping his head back. Her mouth tasted the skin of his throat with her tongue dipping into the hollow of his clavicles. Connor moaned beneath her and gripped her thighs. When his hands ventured up her back, Abby shifted her position and moved away. Connor whimpered at the loss of contact.

She reclined next to him on the bed, then took his long, thick length in her hands. She stroked him firmly and his hips pushed up to meet her. She placed one hand on his stomach to hold him down while her other hand gripped firmly at the base of his cock. Her tongue came into play when she pushed down his foreskin with her lips and laved across the broad head, tasting the pearly drops of his precum. She engulfed him entirely and bobbed her head up and down as she sucked him for all he was worth. She brought him to the very edge of completion before suddenly releasing him entirely. Connor sobbed, desperate for his release.

Abby took mercy and crawled back over him. She guided him inside her and sunk herself down until she'd taken him entirely. There was a pause as she gave herself a moment to adjust. Each time they joined it was like this. She counted herself a lucky woman to have so well endowed a lover. He never failed to bring her exquisite and intense pleasure. Just the feel of his girth stretching her nearly to her limits, and the length of him filling her completely was enough to make her climax sometimes. When Connor took hold of her hips and pulled her towards him, Abby began to move.

She didn't want to rush their lovemaking, they had time this morning. The sun was barely up and they could savour their joining.

Abby lay herself against Connor's chest and sought his mouth for a scorching kiss with tongues curling together. Connor's hands splayed over her back and crushed her to him while she took fistfuls of his thick dark hair. She ground herself against him and whimpered little squeaks of pleasure as her clit rubbed against the coarse hair at the base of his cock. The friction was deep and hot and their passions quickly mounted from sensual to vigorous as they writhed together, bucking and grinding. Abby tore her mouth from his and arched her back. She was on the verge of coming and rode Connor hard and deep while he pawed and suckled at her breasts. After several minutes of give and take, she gave strangled cry and came. Her climax was strong and tears came to her eyes as her body seized around Connor's. She felt his release inside her and heard his moan of completion.

After a good length of time had passed they came back to themselves. Connor's softened cock slipped free of her body and Abby moulded into herself his side with her arm across his chest and her face buried at his neck. She breathed him in and sighed contentedly.

"Mmm, that was wonderful," smiled Abby. "Always is with you."

"Yeah?" was his reply. He'd barely found his voice. That had been intense and a very welcomed way to start his day.

"Yes, course it is, Connor." She kissed his mouth, slow and sweet, hugging him and mewling contentedly in the aftermath of having made love with him. He sighed and cuddled her closer, basking in the quiet moment with his most beloved, but after a few minutes, Abby rose and pulled away from him. Rising to reach into the drawer of her bedside table, she felt his hand rubbing her bare back as she brought out the little jar containing the mixture, the primary ingredient of which was carrot seeds. She swallowed a teaspoon of it and washed it down with a gulp of water from the glass she also kept handy.

"I wish you didn't have to..." Connor lamented.

"Yeah..." she echoed, not able to turn and look at him for the hurt in her heart it caused to see the sadness on his face. "Won't be forever... just... just not now."

"It could be..."

"Let's not go there, yeah?" She felt the bed dip as he came to her side, then a kiss being placed in the middle of her back.

"Sorry..."

"Me too." They had a terrible row over it months ago, when they'd settled in at the school and it seemed they were going be stuck in the Victorian Era permanently. Abby had said some unfair things before finally admitting her true fear. If she gave birth to a son here, he'd grow up to more than likely fight in the First World War, and very possibly die young, alone in a trench somewhere. She couldn't bare the thought, even months later.

There were a number of archaic methods of birth control, most of which were too ridiculous to even consider, but the paste made from carrot seeds disrupted hormones and prevented pregnancy from occurring. It wasn't fool proof, but it would do. If she did happen to fall pregnant, she'd cope. It wasn't that she didn't want to have Connor's baby, quite the opposite, but she hadn't yet reconciled the reality of bringing up children in this time and place. She reached back and found Connor's hand, bringing it around to settle on her abdomen. "Next year. I promise."

He hugged his arms around her and held her until they heard the crow of the rooster in the distance, greeting the new day.

!*!*!

"Drink your coffee, love, it'll wake you up," Connor whispered in her ear as he cut into his eggs on toast. Abby smiled and stroked his knee under the table.

"I got enough sleep, five hours. I'll be fine," she replied in a hushed voice.

"Well you'll sleep well tonight. For one, it's going to be hell of a long day, and for two..." He let his words hang in the air, but Abby knew his intent well enough. He'd already had her that morning and Abby knew when they were amorous in the mornings, they'd be even more so come night. The more settled they'd become at the school, the more settled they'd become with each other. As they found their way in their new lives, they found their way back to each other, not that they had ever strayed very far. Their first couple of months were stressful, but that had dissipated now. There didn't seem to be a night, no matter how tired they were at the end of the day, that they didn't come together in passion, both desperate to affirm the love they felt. In truth being among the girls invigorated them and gave them purpose. They hadn't thought about anomalies or life back in the twenty-first century in months, save for the night before.

"Hush, Connor," she admonished. Connor smiled and kissed her cheek and continued to smile as some of their students gathered around sharing breakfast giggled at the sight. It was a common one, though Connor and Abby attempted to keep up a certain air of propriety. Kisses, warm embraces and the holding of hands however were spotted each day. With there being few men at the school, Connor was often under girlish scrutiny. There was George Murgatroyd, who oversaw the staff and managed the house and its grounds. He was well into his fifties, a bachelor and Abby was fairly certain, gay as a Spring's day. He was a private man who took his position very seriously and genuinely cared about the people under him. He'd been the nephew of Mrs. Davis's husband by the man's sister. He was family and therefore all those important to his aunt were important to him.

James Hawkins was the groundskeeper who came twice a week to tend to the garden. He was young and rakish and caught the eye of the older girls, though he was a good five years beyond them. He tended to gardens of many houses in their neighbourhood and earned himself a decent living for it. No much was know about the young man. He kept to himself, borrowed books from Mrs. Davis and always returned them within two weeks. Lastly, there was Samuel Brickston, who minded after the horses and the carriages. He had a wife and young children and they lived in a small flat above the stables. Mrs. Brickston was the school's cook and worked very hard, but with love. The remainder of the staff consisted of three maids who tended to Mrs. Davis, her faculty and the girls.

Despite all the admirable people Mrs. Davis had gathered around her, the students were meant the share in the work and aided in both the preparation of their meals and the cleaning. The girls were not kept women and understood that there was value in good, honest work. They also tended to the vegetable garden and reaped its rewards. All in all the school had become family to those who had none of their own. Connor and Abby were now a part of it.

With breakfast done, the group set out. Connor followed after Abby and climbed into the carriage after helping her up. She still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable in Victorian dress, but she was managing. She certainly looked beautiful however and his heart skipped a beat every time he looked at her. Once they had a bit of money saved, Connor decided he wanted to splurge and buy them each something fine to wear. Their station wasn't especially high in society, but with most of their needs taken care of by the school, the money they earned could go to whatever they wished. While most couples of their age would be stowing away their earrings for the future, Connor reasoned that since they ultimately intended to find a way home, they could afford to indulge this once. Besides, Abby could tell that Connor was positively bursting at the seams to treat her.

Despite how much he'd spent, he couldn't regret a thing, not when Abby was so breath taking in her Victorian garb. He'd wanted her in green, which had secretly always been his favourite colour. He loved it so well, he'd put her in three shades of it. The blouse she wore, with its fine silk brocade upon the chest and full sleeves was the perfect match to an emerald. Her flowing skirt was a pale citrine, as was the smart jacket she wore over her blouse, buttoned up to below her breasts. The buttons, of which there were many, were hued in a deep olive colour. Along the hem of her jacket, its sleeves and the bottom of her skirt lay a delicately stitched pattern of leaves and vines in the same emerald as her blouse. Abby thought it a particularly special request on Connor's part, knowing her love of nature. She made for a striking vision to behold. Of course Connor's favourite part of her outfit was what lay beneath. While Abby loathed wearing her corset, it verily short circuited a part of Connor's brain whenever he saw her in it... and nothing else.

Her hair was still quite short by way of comparison to the women of the time and just barely reached her shoulders when she let it loose, which she did within the confines of the school. At first she tried to ignore the stares she received when she went out without the hat she wore, which complimented her outfit, and with her hair free. She was resigned after a few derisive looks to begin to wear her hair swept up, her fringe however remained a bit shorter than what any other woman would've. She made the effort to keep it as simple as possible, but a few delicate strands always escaped and caught Connor's attention. Too often he'd be compelled to pull her near, just so he could wind her hair around his finger to curl it, letting it rest against her cheek.

Abby had but one pair of Victorian boots, simple and black with a modest heel and well hidden under her gown. She had no interest in adding another pair to her wardrobe, it having taken months to break in the hard leather and soften the heel to where she felt she could run in them if she had to. Connor for his part looked as dashing as she was beautiful. Bless him to the ends of the Earth, he still wore the same tattered brown boots he'd worn back home. They'd survived a year in the Cretaceous and all their years together. He'd have not been her Connor without them. However, that didn't stop him from matching her in every other way. His suit was cut to fit his slender figure and made of a light charcoal grey wool. He had it all, from his smart waist coat with pocket watch and its accompanying chain, to an emerald green cravat to match Abby's blouse. Little details pleased her, such as the pocket handkerchief that displayed the same leaf and vine pattern as her dress did. Atop his head was a very handsome Homburg Hat in the same grey as his suit. It topped off his wardrobe perfectly, down to the emerald green grosgrain ribbon trim that encircled it. Connor adopted a certain swagger every time he donned the hat, one that excited her and made her want to tear off the layers of Victorian dress and have her wicked way with him. It seemed her husband played the part of Victorian gentleman to a tee.

He took his seat beside her, sat across from three of their young charges while the other girls followed in three other carriages that had been hired for the day. There was one girl in particular that held special attention from Abby. While all the other girls at the school were no younger than twelve or thirteen, one was only eight years of age. She was called Tilly.

Abby well remembered the day that Tilly had come into their lives. It was shortly after the last term had ended at the school and there was a two week break in which the graduating students made the transition into independent women and the girls moved up a level. With four vacancies to fill, Mrs. Davis enlisted Abby in addition to Louise to visit The Blackbourne Home For Girls. She left Connor with a kiss and a promise to be safe, having not been apart from him since they'd arrived in the past. Brickston drove them the distance of many miles to the school. Abby watched the scenery pass by them, listening to the hooves of the horses on the cobblestones as well as Mrs. Davis and Louise explain what was going to occur at the orphanage. The task before them were to select four girls to bring back.

On one hand, they were about to change the lives of four very deserving girls, but on the other, dozens would be left behind. Mrs. Davis wanted to be certain that Abby would have no illusions about how difficult it was going to be, or how painful it would be to leave but four behind. All of them had sad stories, all of them were lonely and praying for salvation from the hand they'd been dealt in their young lives, but there was no help for it. Mrs. Davis had long since learned to listen to more than just her heart. They would meet with the girls first as a group, then as individuals. They were meant to determine if any one of them had a sharp mind and seemed to be unafraid of applying themselves in more than just an academic environment. They'd have to be willing to change and become responsible, independent young women. They also had to weed out the ones who didn't have what Mrs. Davis called an _unsullied spirit_. Abby didn't need to have that part explained to her. She knew what that meant.

Girls in care who'd been unloved, abandoned, abused and discarded could turn and allow their nature to be twisted. It was a defence mechanism, but it made for a very angry, detached and sometimes ruthless heart. That terrible nature could be nurtured back, but not always. Abby understood. Professional psychology was still in its infancy in these times and while Mrs. Davis's resources were great, they were not infinite. As they neared their journey's end, Mrs. Davis spoke her final words on the matter. "You cannot save all of them."

As they descended from the carriage and approached the doors of The Blackbourne Home For Girls, Abby became distracted by a raised voice coming from around the other side of the large grey building. She broke away from Mrs. Davis and Louise, intent on investigating. She rounded the corner and stopped, assessing the scene before her. There was a small girl, no older than seven, half way up a tree, barefoot and holding something close to her chest while she gripped a branch as she tried to ascend. Below stood an a woman as old as Mrs. Davis with her arm extended as she beat at the child's ankles with a cane.

"You come down this instant! Insolent child! You'll get the strap for this!" the old woman screeched, swinging her cane at the girl, connecting enough times to nearly topple the girl out of the tree. The girl however was defiant and resolute, she'd not be coming out of the tree unless she was knocked out of it.

"It fell out of the nest!" the girl protested. "If I don't put it back its mummy won't find it!"

"Leave it for a cat you little nuisance! You devil's child! You're ordered to the hall instantly!"

"I don't care! It's just a baby, it needs its mummy!"

"No wonder your own mother abandoned you. Heathen! Scamp!"

The woman went at the girl one more time and just as Abby was about to speak up, the girl placed a well aimed kick to the cane and sent it flying from the woman's hand, spinning it several meters away where it bounced on the grass before finally coming to a rest. Now that she was free and unencumbered, the girl managed to resume her climb and disappeared up into the leaves and out of sight. In the meantime the woman retrieved her cane and Abby made her way towards them. The girl appeared a few moments later, making her way down from the tree, looking very proud of herself for having accomplished the task she'd set for herself. She jumped down and stumbled, tumbling forwards on to her hands and knees. A shadow loomed over her and she looked up in time to see the hard blow of the old woman's cane coming swiftly down upon her.

It was in the moment that Abby intervened, capturing the woman by the wrist and halting her assault on the child. "Don't you dare!" Abby warned, her voice as cold as ice and equal to the harsh stare from her vibrant blue eyes. Tilly got up and ran as fast as her feet would carry her, back inside the building. Abby let out the breath she'd been holding and released the woman, turning around and calmly walking back towards the building. Little did Abby know at the time, that Tilly would be coming home with them.

For the most part, Abby listened and observed as Mrs. Davis explained to the gathering of girls what was about to occur, as well as how sorry she was that she couldn't take them all with her. The girls would be interviewed one at a time, and that she, Louise and Mrs. Temple would be at the school all day. Straight away there were two girls who would obviously be coming back with them. One was fourteen and had led a fairly middle class life until her parents had died and it had been discovered that her father's debts swallowed the entirety of the estate. She was astute, polite and unsuited to the life she'd fallen into. She would do well. The second's background was virtually the opposite, but her intelligence and passion with which she conducted herself convinced Mrs. Davis she was a good choice.

Whilst Louise and Mrs. Davis discussed the potential third and forth candidates, Abby wandered the halls of the orphanage. She was curious about the lives these girls were living and what potential futures they may be faced with. There were forty three girls in total, half of them well under ten years of age, including several toddlers and even babies. Abby didn't remain in that wing of the building long. The sorrow came over her quickly, seeing little girls less than a year old begging to be picked up and cuddled and there not being anyone there to hold them.

She remembered her own lonely nights in care where she had to be strong for her brother, but deep inside she'd prayed someone would come and hold her and tell her it would all work out fine in the end. No one had ever come. She'd had to wait many long years before she found what she'd sought. It had initially come in the form of a clumsy geek who never stopped babbling or checking out her bum. She smiled, thinking of how when she returned to the school that night, he'd be there waiting for her with his strong arms to hold her, his soft kisses and loving words to chase away the darkness.

The sound of someone crying caught her attention, that along with laughter and taunts from others. She followed the noise and there in one of the sleeping quarters with its cots in rows, was Tilly. She was sobbing and hiding herself in a corner while three other girls around the same age poked and pinched her as they called her names and laughed at her. Abby flashed back to a moment when she'd not been much older and had suffered similar cruelties. She could not abide it. She entered the room swiftly, making sure her footsteps were heard. The other girls gasped and spun around, knowing they'd been caught and thus looked shamed.

"Leave us," Abby ordered, her tone firm and unforgiving. The girls dispersed and after they were gone, she approached the cowering girl. She pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and gently turned Tilly around to dab away her tears. "Tell me what happened," she bade as Tilly tried to control herself, hiccuping as she ceased her crying.

"They... they... killed... Flora!" Tilly tried to explained through her gasps for breath.

"Flora?" Tilly pointed to a spot to the right and there appeared to be the squashed remains of a salamander. Abby sighed and pulled the little girl into a hug until the girl had sufficiently calmed. Tilly was tense at first, obviously not accustomed to being held, but eventually relaxed as Abby stroked her hair. She let the little girl go and scooped up what was left of 'Flora' with her handkerchief, wrapping the remains in it. "Let's go out into the garden, we'll put Flora to rest. It's okay, she knew you cared about her and that it wasn't your fault. I promise. Understand?" Tilly nodded her head, even as fresh tears came to her eyes. "Is there anything here that's yours?"

"Just... just m'shoes, Miss."

"Abby, my name's Abby." The little girl looked confused for a moment and Abby smiled. "I suppose it's best you call me Mrs. Temple. Get your shoes."

Tilly went around to her bed and reached under, bringing out a tattered pair of shoes that were clearly to big for her, but they'd do for the carriage ride back to the school. Abby was resolute, Tilly was coming with them. In fact she'd started to prepare a passionate speech inside her head to convince Mrs. Davis, but it had not been necessary. When Abby had walked in to the common room with her arm around Tilly's shoulders, the older woman had merely smirked at her friend knowing that Tilly would be going with them. Abby had always relied upon her instincts and they were telling her that this one was special. She reminded Abby of herself and there was spirit to her that she was drawn to. She couldn't leave her behind. She knew if she did, she'd never forgive herself and would regret it for the rest of her life. Therefore, Tilly was coming with her.

As the other three girls who were coming with them gathered their belongings, Abby approached one of the Mistresses to asked after Tilly's history, even just to know if she had a full name.

"Poor lamb, they found her wandering the streets one night, couldn't have been more than four years old. Barefoot and ragged as could be, covered in bruises. No one knew who she was, no one came to claim her. We figured her mum was probably dead, just another prostitute put down in the gutter like so many others, judging by where she was found, you see. She didn't speak a word for almost a year. We named her Rosie on account of her pink cheeks, but then one day out of the blue, told us she was called Tilly. She hasn't given us a moment's peace ever since."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Abby enjoyed carriage rides. She was able to allow herself to relax and watch the streets and sights of London pass by. Next to her Connor held her hand and spoke about what it was they'd be seeing once they arrived at their destination. Abby cast the occasional glance at Tilly, who much like her, watched the world outside with a smile on her face. In the six months since the girl had been with them, she'd had a difficult go of it. It had taken all that time for Tilly to shake the fear that she'd be sent back to the orphanage. She was much younger than the other girls and most of them saw her as a nuisance and didn't include her in their activities. She was an attentive pupil and sat in on the classes with the younger students, but often needed extra care and attention as her abilities were far below the others who were years older. She was often frustrated by herself and Abby or Connor would usually find her in tears on her own under the big white oak in the garden. Furthermore in order to attempt to secure her place, she worked twice as hard as the others when it came to their chores. Sadly, her overzealousness had caused a few accidents, such as knocking over a full bottle of ink on Connor's desk in his classroom as she'd been dusting. His notes and papers were ruined and upon discovery she'd offered tearful apologies and begged not to be sent away.

Abby had been lurking outside and come upon the scene and soon felt a swell of love for her dear husband when instead of growing angry with the girl, he'd knelt down to her and drawn her into his arms to hug and cajole her. He explained that it was entirely his fault for not putting the stopper on the bottle and she wasn't to feel a ounce of blame for it. It was the first time Tilly had allowed any man to come near her.

She was afraid of men. The little girl could not articulate her fear, but it was real and Abby had witnessed it first hand as the child became frozen with it whenever Murgatroyd or Sam Brickston came near. Virtually nothing was known of her past and she'd been so young when she'd been found that the fear was simply an instinctual one. She'd been apprehensive of Connor from the moment she'd met him, but after having observed the tender and loving way in which he interacted with Abby at all times, Tilly was willing to be around him so long as Abby was near.

After the accident in Connor's class however, Tilly warmed to Connor and the two became friends of a sort. Abby saw a few similarities between the two - both eager to please and more than a little bit accident prone. For Abby's part she'd more or less found herself a shadow. They had an evening ritual after supper where Abby would be the one to order and escort the younger girls to their beds and spent a moment with each to talk if it was needed, but with Tilly, all she wanted was a cuddle and Abby was happy to oblige, understanding how deep seated that need was. When Tilly had fallen asleep in her arms, Abby lay her back to the bed and kissed her forehead before retiring to her own apartment and Connor.

During the days Tilly always wanted to be with Abby, and that was why she sat with them in the carriage as they traversed London towards their destination. Upon arrival outside the Imperial Science Museum, Connor stepped out of the carriage to aid the ladies, lifting Tilly down to the street before extending his hand to Abby, drawing her near for a quick kiss as she set foot on the cobblestones. Tilly immediately closed her hand about Abby's. Connor gathered the girls to him, their leader for the day, as Louise and Abby flanked the group to keep any from straggling or going off on her own. The girls were innately curious, but London was not without its dangers, even more than a hundred years from the one Connor and Abby knew.

Entrance into the museum was free and while Connor could spend all day showing the girls every last nook and cranny of the place, they were here specifically to see one exhibit in particular. A collection of notes, manuscripts and sketches done by Gallileo himself were on loan from the Italian government . In addition, a collection of present day astronomers and artists had assembled a model of the solar system that promised to be, without a hint of mockery, out of this world. The idea fascinated and intrigued Connor and he thought it would be a special treat for the girls. The description he'd read in the Museum's ledger, to which he had a subscription, promised a spectacular demonstration of the infinite wonders of the heavens. Mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry were all very well and good, but aside from a few explosive reactions in class, Connor hadn't really shown his pupils anything extraordinary.

As the group passed through the vast and opulent halls of the museum, attentions were drawn all over the place looking at the various exhibits and models. It was times like these that Abby found herself thinking of the Victorian Era as home. She'd never reached that point in the Cretaceous, save for a few nights by the fire in Connor's arms. Walking along in her smart dress with her students, her husband and their colleague, Abby felt proud and accomplished, as if she had a place in the world and could influence the future in a positive way.

She caught Connor's eye and he smiled, directing them around the corner and down a flight of stairs. Most of the exhibits were behind glass, but as they entered the room that housed the Gallileo treasures Abby couldn't help but gasp. They passed through thick cloth curtains of the darkest black and into the solar system itself. Above their heads was the display. Each planet had been crafted in blow glass and suspended as part of a working, moving model and that spun the giant orbs around a sun. They'd somehow devised a way to control a flow of gas into the core of each orb, which had then been lit, illuminating the planets from the inside. The sun was nothing short of awesome with its fiery reds and yellows. Tiny pinholes of light sparkled high above them through the tarp that covered the glass ceiling of the room. It was wondrous, a true work of art in tandem with science.

Some of the younger girls lay down on the ground and looked above them in rapt fascination. Abby gave Tilly a nudge to join them and the little girl broke from her to lay down and behold the wonder above. Silently, Connor crept up behind his wife and surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his body.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" he whispered in her ear before bestowing a kiss there.

"It's incredible!" Abby gasped. "This beats any show I ever saw at the Planetarium back home, hands down!" She felt his smile against her neck as he kissed it and she leaned back against him, staring up at the moving orbs of coloured light and remarking to herself that she and Connor both had made a very good life for themselves and that really, it was time to start living it. She turned and brushed her lips against his temple. "Love you, Conn," she whispered and revelled in hearing her words echoed back at her from his lips.

Beyond the magnificent entrance into the exhibit, they entered the next room where the artefacts were housed. Galileo's own geometrical and military compass was on display, which excited Connor to no end. There was a replica of the man's earliest telescope design, as well one of the most modern ones available to the people of the present. The girls all lined up to look through it, amazed that they could see distant stars even in the light of day. Abby distanced herself from the group as Connor began explaining various facts about the cosmos, physics, mathematics and Gallileo's various experiments with light, the orbits of Venus and various other details that the students were interested in. She wandered a bit, feeling secure to do so upon seeing Tilly standing next to Connor holding his hand.

She went from station to station, observing an item and reading the accompanying placard. She was interested but didn't find it was exciting as some of pupils did. A small crowd of Londoners had gathered around Connor and were listening to him speak. He was in his element and she left him to it.

She passed by a row of glass casings that held notes and manuscripts from Gallileo as well as other European astronomers that had followed in his footsteps. She kept an ear to what Connor was saying, but gave herself a moment alone. She'd been thinking about her promise to Connor, that in a year she'd let them have a child. It always had been a great fear of hers, to become a mother, but with Connor's love and faith in her, she thought perhaps it wouldn't be so daunting. Their child would have a wonderful life being raised at the school. With her knowledge of the future, she'd do her best to dissuade any son she'd have from becoming a soldier. He'd be much better suited as a scientist or even an administrator of some sort, anything that would keep him from going off to war.

It took her a few moments to register what it was before her eyes. She did a double take and her expression became dark and serious. It had been months since she'd given any real thought to anomalies, though she knew it was on Connor's mind more often than not. In the evenings after they'd retired to their quarters, he would sit at his desk and tinker with various mechanical inventions gleaned from disassembling one of their mobiles as well as pieces he'd made himself or had made for him. He was striving to put together an anomaly detection device of some sort. He'd fashioned his own short wave radio, but of course all he picked up was static. He tinkered with his invention nightly, but had stopped speaking with her of what he doing. In the beginning he was compelled to share every little progress he made. As time wore on and he failed to advance his ideas to his satisfaction, he chose to speak with her about their daily lives as he worked rather than the work itself.

The primary problem now was that both the charges on their phones had reached zero percent. There were batteries of a sort to feed power off of available in the Victorian Era. The problem was, the charges were too infinitesimal for what was needed. There wasn't a hope of charging up the batteries within the phones. He'd spent weeks fashioning an adapter to even be able to hook up the modern tech to whatever he could come up with in their present time. At best he could bring the power cells in their mobiles up to three percent, barely enough charge to even turn their phones on. Connor's understanding of the batteries of their time wasn't as prolific as he would've wished.

His other idea was to create his own Tesla Coil if he could, but there was hardly an opportunity or facility to implement it. Still, as she lay in bed, often reading a book, they spoke and he worked and she waited until he'd had enough for the night and joined her.

That was why when she spied the book and the page it was opened to, Abby felt her heart leap in her chest. There before her, meticulously drawn on a piece of aged parchment was an image she'd seen before. It was a replica of the anomaly map she'd first seen Cutter constructing in his lab, and that Connor had then witnessed as it emerged in a stunning display of light from the artefact. Lastly, they had both seen in it in the desolate wreckage of the building in the future world during the final confrontation with Helen Cutter.

Her stomach twisted and she felt faint. She cursed the damn corset she was wearing as her breathing increased. She put her hands to the glass to steady herself and closed her eyes as she tried regain a semblance of composure.

"Missus Abby?" came a little bird's voice from her side. Abby opened her eyes as Tilly laid her hand over Abby's. The look of concern the little girl's face encompassed her entire body. Her bottom lip trembled and tears brimmed in her big blue eyes. "Do you want Mister Connor?" Abby smiled, trying to assuage Tilly's obvious fear. Only she called Connor by his first name, to the rest of the girls he was always Mr. Temple.

"I'm fine, honest," Abby spoke, forcing herself to calm. "Whoever invented the corset is a scoundrel. It's a bit tight that's all." Abby could tell Tilly didn't wholly believe her. The child was remarkably perceptive when it came to reading people, especially her. Abby turned her hand over and give Tilly's a reassuring squeeze. "Let's go join the others."

Hand in hand they made their way to Connor, Louise and the girls. Abby caught her husband's eye and gave him a pointed look. His brow furrowed in confusion, but he carried on. After an hour, the group had grown weary as well as hungry. Whilst they'd been touring the museum, Brickston had been preparing another surprise for the girls, a picnic in the park across from the museum. They escorted the girls to the park and helped themselves to lunch, but not before Abby pulled Connor aside and told him they had to return to the museum. Tilly had been suspicious as they told the others they were going for a short walk by themselves, but Abby insisted she remain with her fellow students and not to stray. Abby could feel the little girl's eyes upon her back as she and Connor disappeared into the distance, but she knew it would be a good while before the child found her confidence to go off on her own again. It had been the same for her at that age.

"Okay, love, what gives?" Connor asked as they made their way back into the museum, this time diving in with the throng of the afternoon crowd.

"Something in the Gallileo exhibit. I saw it it when you were giving the girls their lesson," Abby explained, slipping her hand into his. She pulled him along as she wove her way through the masses of people. They passed quickly through the darkened room with the illuminated model of the solar system and into the main hall. She was a woman on a mission and Connor trailed after her as quick as he could. She stopped so abruptly he nearly crashed into her. As it was, he grabbed her by the hips so as not topple them. "There!" she spoke, tapping the glass and pointing to the open book.

She watched as Connor's jaw dropped and he planted his hands on the glass. "That's... that's..."

"I know! It's the same as Cutter's, isn't it? And the same that was in the artefact?"

"Yes, yes, absolutely!" His hand covered his mouth and he looked at her. "I need a closer look at the book. You think I could convince the museum...?"

"We could try..."

He shook his head. "There's no way. The book's three hundred years old, part of a priceless exhibit. I could petition to get a proper look, but that could take weeks, even months. I need to see what this is all about as soon as possible." He scanned the placard affixed next to the manuscript and read the name _Thomas Greyson, 1640. _"If he knew enough about the anomalies to have sketched the map, then who know what else he's got in the book that could help us find a way home. Maybe he's even predicted one that'll open for us. If we wait too long, our chance to get back to our own time might pass us by."

"What do we do then? It's not like we can sneak in after-hours and steal it!" She saw the idea form in his head right before her eyes and her stomach dropped. He grinned and she shook her head. "Oh no you don't Connor Temple. I'm not breaking into a bloody royal museum to steal a book! I'm not going to prison and neither are you!"

He gave her quick peck on the lips. "We'll not go to prison, Abby... because we're not going to get caught."

Abby had a sinking feeling Connor was going to eat his words.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Abby sighed for the tenth time in as many minutes. She examined herself in the mirror and hoped what she wore was suitable for a bit of burglary. During the days in which she taught at the school she wore a very plain and unadorned black dress. There was no finery to its cuff and collar. It was bordering on being absolutely dour, but it also suited daily life. In the warmer months she wore a similar outfit, though it was of a pale cream and warm grey. The only time she put on her exquisite green dress was on special occasions. For the present, she looked unremarkable and that was precisely how it was supposed to be. She slipped on a pair of black gloves and pulled a black veil over her head she'd use to conceal her hair and face, therefore masking her identity entirely.

"You can stay, you don't have to come with me," Connor spoke as he did up the last of the buttons on his shirt before attempting to tie his cravat. Abby crossed the distance between them and shooed his hands away to do it for him.

"Whatever we do, we do together. That's the deal," she replied. "How many times to I have to repeat myself?"

"Sorry. It's just, you're right, it's not without its dangers and I won't have you..."

"We need the book, bottom line. Without me along you'll likely end up in the prison at Newgate and I'd never see you again. We do this together and that's final. I'm a grown woman and I can live with my choices."

"Thank you. I love you for this, well, for everything, really."

"I love you too, Connor. We'll do our best, keep our heads and hopefully no one will ever be the wiser. Bet it makes the evening papers."

He smiled. "Late night robbery at the Imperial Science Museum, single item stolen, one old book by a seventeenth century astronomer no one's ever heard of. Police baffled and frankly, not terribly interested."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" She gave his cheek a caress, ruffling his beard. He planned on shaving it off in the morning, just in case the police came around asking question of anyone who'd been at the museum the day before. He'd dressed himself in one of his two other suits, black like her dress. From head to toe he was the night. He'd swiped the shoe polish kit from Murgatroyd and blackened his boots as best he could, knowing the brown would be an instant way for any witness to identify him by the way they clashed with his suit. Wearing a mask was preposterous, so the hope was that should anyone come upon them, Abby could distract them long enough for him to find a way to incapacitate them so an escape could be made, hopefully with the book in hand. "Got your kit?"

He patted his breast pocket and the six inch flat metal straight edge he carried along with the tool to score glass. He sincerely hoped there wouldn't be any other security measures or alarms guarding the exhibit, besides the expected night watchmen. He slipped on his own gloves and decided to forgo his hat. He'd hate to lose it as they ran from the scene of their impending crime.

The time had come. Tilly had gone to bed as usual, with Abby lingering and holding the child until she'd fallen asleep. The other girls had also retired for the night. It was always early to bed and early to rise at the school. Dusk had fallen on the evening of the waning summer and soon it would be night. The pair barely had an hour before the museum would be closed. The hope was they'd sneak in and out before the doors were shut so they'd not be trapped and have to find a means of escape.

Connor grasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "This'll work. I know there's got to be something in the book. It'll be worth it," he assured her.

"I believe you. I trust you," Abby replied. She closed her arms around him and hugged him briefly before they made their way out of their rooms. The house was silent aside from the faint sounds of music playing from the floor below. Murgatroyd always spent his last hour before bed listening to his gramophone and his favourite concertos. It brought a peace over the entire house and lulled the occupants to sleep.

Hand in hand, they moved quietly and swiftly through the house, not causing a single disturbance. They relied on all they'd learned in the Cretaceous. If they could avoid the most lethal predators in prehistory, they could surely avoid people. However perceptive and intelligent human beings were, few truly trusted their instincts to the degree that the Temples did, save for one. Unaware, they were being watched and followed, Connor and Abby descended the stairs and snuck into the kitchen to leave by the scullery door and into the back garden to continue out by the gate into the alley where they'd move with haste to catch a cab to take them to the museum.

Tilly stopped her pursuit at the edge of the garden, her stomach in knots as she wrung her small hands in a state of worry. She had never been one to sleep through the night. In fact she often woke up several times by either a nightmare or a terrible sense of foreboding that had drawn her from her rest. It had got better since she'd come to live at the school, but she'd never once slept through the night completely. When she'd heard the rustling of fabric and the soft padding of footsteps in the hallway, she was compelled to investigate. She'd been terribly nervous when she'd opened the bedroom door, but breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Missus Abby and Mister Connor. She'd been curious and followed after them, but she'd stopped at the edge of the garden, too frightened to go further and knowing Missus Abby wouldn't approve. She was safe at the school and beyond its enclosure was the terrible world she'd once been so lost in. Creeping back inside she sat herself down on the stone steps by the kitchen's fireplace and gnawed her bottom lip with her teeth. Tears came to her eyes and she felt terribly ill. Nothing could stop her intense panic at the idea of the two people she loved best in the world having left. What if they didn't come back? She hugged her arms around herself and wept silently. Until Missus Abby and Mister Connor came back, her world was in a tailspin.

!*!*!

Abby kept her back to Connor as he peered over the glass, looking down at the Greyson manuscript. Abby stood with her back to him, watching as one by one the patrons left the grand hall. Connor was already reaching into his jacket pocket for his tools. Abby reached back and touched his hip, signalling that he could begin. He knelt down and quickly began scoring the glass, wincing as the volume the scratchings made in the vacant room. He cursed under his breath when he pushed against the shape he'd cut and it didn't budge.

"Might have to punch through," he spoke in a hushed voice.

"Keep trying," Abby urged. "Cut another line down the centre, maybe you can make a weak spot in the middle."

"I'll do two, make a cross."

"Quickly! The guards could come by at any moment."

He kept working, scoring two more lines as deep as he could, putting so intense a pressure on it that his hands shook. Suddenly there was a crack to the glass and Connor dropped both his tools so as not to accidentally slice himself open. There was a loud din as the metal objects hit the marble and Abby groaned. She could picture the look on Connor's face perfectly and she sighed.

"Sorry," came his quiet, lamenting voice.

"Just do it, Connor."

"Right. Sorry, love." He quickly picked up his tools and pocketed them before pressing his thumbs against the glass. He was rewarded by the four pieces snapping apart and into the case. He retrieved the book, snapping it shut and tucking it under his arm. With not a moment to spare, he rose, but halted as Abby put her hand behind her and grabbed his arm.

"Allo, allo, what's going on here then?" a grim, authoritative voice asked. The guard approached swiftly. "The museum's closed!"

Abby stepped to the side to shield Connor's face. This was exactly the sort of confrontation they'd been hoping to avoid. The man was older, in his fifties, short but stocky. He was dressed in uniform and looked rather intimidating. Around his neck was a whistle, the sort that would echo through the entire museum at an alarming level.

"Abby?" Connor questioned.

"I've got this, Conn," she spoke, straightening her back and taking a few steps forward as the guard neared. Abby watched the man's body language, trying to gauge how he'd react. The look on his face was one of great suspicion and Abby wasn't surprised in the least. They were after all robbing the museum.

"I'll ask you to remove your veil, Madam," the guard spoke officiously, his chin jutting out. He stood four feet from her, arms at his sides. "And you sir, stand up and turn around."

"We were just leaving," Connor spoke in a remarkably convincing Scottish accent that surprised even Abby. She smiled to herself, reminded of Cutter and how this was probably something he'd admonish them for but be secretly pleased with.

"Now, sir, you'll stand up or I'll be sounding the alarm!"

"I'm really sorry," Abby spoke with a sigh, taking another step closer.

"There's no harm done, ma'am, that is, if you're not doing any yourself. The museum's closed and I'll escort you both out, but I will ask you again to remove your veil."

"No, I'm really sorry for this."

"Beg pardon?"

Abby's fist came out like a shot and connected with the man's jaw. She followed up with a cross hook blow and then one mighty upper cut. The guard dropped to the ground like a stone. Abby cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders.

"He's going to have such a headache when he wakes up," Abby sighed. Connor was on his feet, astonished at what had just transpired. She grabbed his hand and dragged him along, taking them back through the solar system exhibit towards the exit. "Hide the book inside your jacket," she told him and he obeyed, still dumbfounded by what she'd just done.

Connor kept his head down as Abby ushered them to the doors where two more guards were waiting to close up. Abby sailed past them and Connor followed quickly. They rushed down the steps towards the street, both feeling elated and relieved as they heard the large doors of the museum close behind them. Soon they were running through the streets, eager to put as much distance between them and the museum. The guard Abby had knocked out would be found eventually, probably sooner than later and they wanted to be long gone.

They hailed a cab and told it to take them north of the direction of home. If anyone were to come after them, they'd not want to leave a trail of any sort. Over the next hour they switched cabs three times until finally Abby took off her veil and they found a cab to take them back to the school. Her blond hair would be remembered, but there was no sign of a veil should anyone ask. All in all they'd thought they'd been quite clever. They'd taken a dangerous risk, but both were confident their efforts would pay great dividends and there'd be a clue in the book to finding their way home to their own time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Quiet!" Abby admonished her husband. They'd both taken their escape and journey back home as a serious endeavour, adopting a true cloak and dagger quality to it, but now as they walked down the alley to the back gate of the garden with their arms linked, Connor was positively giddy. He couldn't quite believe they'd actually pulled it off. They'd worked as a team, just as they always had and felt as if nothing could stop them. There was a renewed hope at the possibility of going back to their own time. Abby couldn't deny that she felt similar to Connor. In hindsight it had been exciting, though she did regret having to knock out the guard. He'd only been doing his duty and naturally hadn't expected a woman to be able to land a punch or three so well. There'd been no other way so far as she could've seen at the time.

It was past ten o'clock and they had enough time left to them to have a decent night's sleep. Abby knew however that Connor would probably spend half the night pouring over their find. Once his mind got to working there was no stopping it for anything. They'd not even had a proper look at the book, too concerned with keeping its existence concealed. They entered the back gate and secured it behind them. They stopped and shared a look a utter excitement, but forced themselves to calm. They took a few deep breaths but their eyes still sparkled in the aftermath of the exhilaration of the night. Abby couldn't help herself and giggled and Connor shushed her, covering her mouth with his hand. The light in her eyes shifted and he recognized it well. It was lust. He was feeling it too and suddenly they wanted very much to get themselves behind closed doors.

They hurried through the kitchen, unaware of the little girl that lay asleep curled up on the bricks in front of the cold fireplace, and dashed up the stairs to their apartment. As soon as Connor closed the door behind him, Abby pounced. She grabbed the book from him and tossed it on to the small sofa against the wall before pushing his back against the door and fusing her lips to his. The kiss was fierce, demanding and full of passion, which he returned with equal fervor. Tongues dueled and lips pressed hard as they both struggled for breath.

After a few minutes, Connor began to guide her backwards. He broke off their kiss for a moment only, to lift her up by her corsetted waist and sit her down on his desk, not caring as she crushed the papers strewn across its surface. Thankfully the bottle of ink he knocked over was securely capped otherwise Abby's skirts would have been ruined as he pushed up their layers to reach his goal. He moaned appreciatively as his hands touched the bare skin of her thighs. He adored her in Victorian garb, but was eternally grateful she did without their undergarments. They continued to kiss, voracious and possessive, pouring every ounce of their passion for each other into it.

Abby meanwhile pulled off his suit jacket and eagerly tried to divest him of the rest of his clothing. She gasped loudly when his hands took her by the backs of her knees and roughly pulled her against him, pressing his confined erection against her centre. Off came his cravat before she pushed him back, pulling down the braces from over his shoulders and tugging his shirt up, not bothering to unfasten its buttons. She wanted his skin. She threw the garment away and attacked his throat throat with lips, tongue and teeth, digging her fingernails into his shoulders.

Connor growled at her and it went straight to her core. Hurriedly he unfastened his trousers before snaking his hand under her rear, picking her up and sheathing himself inside her with one solid stroke. He grunted in satisfaction as she took him completely, her sharp cry of combined pain and pleasure muffled against his throat. Abby shuddered and clung to him, her pants for breath hot against his skin. He set her back down, but held her firm. She whimpered and wound her arms around his neck at the same time as her legs went around his waist. He gave her the time she needed to adjust, always a little overwhelmed by him, then rolled his hips against hers. Her limbs tensed around him and a sob escaped her. She whispered what she wanted of him in his ear and he obeyed.

Holding her firm, he bucked his hips and undulated against her, never leaving her, but stroking every sensitive spot he knew drove her to quick and powerful orgasms. The desk creaked beneath them as they continued to roll and grind against each other, the coupling becoming ever more rough and intense. They bit and clawed at each other, kissing madly, Abby's fingernails scoring down Connor back as his left bruises to the flesh of her arse.

When suddenly he brought her off the desk, spun them around and crashed atop her down to the bed, Abby bit down hard into her bottom lip to keep her scream from waking the whole household. Connor now had the leverage needed to thrust fully, hard and fast while Abby fought with the buttons of her frock, desperate to have his mouth on her breasts. She grew ever more frustrated, so close to her climax but not quite there, as Connor pushed into her over and over, his rhythm jarring and forceful. Once she'd successfully freed herself from another layer of clothing she hurriedly pulled the blouse away, then tore off the last slip of fabric that covered her, leaving her breasts exposed as her corset curved under them and pushed them up. Needing no encouragement, Connor latched on to a nipple and sucked ardently as well as laving her with his tongue and nipping with his teeth. He moaned and ground against her, rocking with her, giving her not a moment's reprieve from his claiming of her.

Abby held him to her breast, gasping loudly as his suckling became painful, sending shocks straight to her clit and causing her to arch against him. She begged him to continue, revelling in the mix of pain and pleasure coursing through her. Writhing under him, encouraging him on, Abby sought one of his hands, taking hold and guiding it to where they were joined. He slowed his pace, his thrusts becoming long and deep. His thumb struck her clit and pressed down, moving in circles. A few more seconds and deft flicks with his thumb and she was lost. She turned her head and bit into her pillow as she felt the deep ache of her womb clench and the force ripple down through her, muscles pulsing around him, drawing him in.

With a heated moan Connor came, pushing into her one last time, his body arching as his release left him. Her orgasm continued to draw his from him, strangling his cock and wringing every last drop. Connor groaned loudly in her ear, stilling himself as heavy spurts of semen left him and filled her. It was ecstatic and draining and he revelled in each second of pleasure. Bonelessly he collapsed atop her, still grinding and pushing against her, cleaving to her, panting heavily and making sounds of absolute satisfaction.

Abby kissed Connor's cheek and massaged his scalp with her fingers while her other arm hugged around his back. She kept her legs locked around his waist and held him tight while his lips kissed her neck and shoulders. After a time they let go of each other but instead of Connor rolling off her, he moved down her body, kneading her flesh with his hands as his mouth suckled her skin. He progressed lower and lower.

He kissed her inner thighs as he brought her legs over his shoulders. His head dropped and his hair fanned out over her stomach. The first sweep of his tongue over her too sensitive clit made her jump and he chuckled, his breath hot against her soaking wet core. His moan of appreciation rumbled deep in his chest as he sunk down against her center and buried his face between her legs. As he began to feast, Abby knew the book wouldn't be looked at for a long while to come.

!*!*!

Having been exhausted by their celebration upon returning to the school, Connor and Abby had slept soundly through till dawn. They were slow to wake and to move, wanting to bask in the pleasure of their proximity and the memories of the night before. They'd enjoyed each other until quite late and the lack of sleep would be felt throughout the day. They rose and washed, Connor taking the extra time needed to shave his face clean. Abby dressed in her gray skirt and cream coloured blouse, letting her hair loose for the day. Connor pulled on a pair of gray slacks, a crisp white shirt and a gray waistcoat. They weren't likely to leave the school grounds with it being the end of the week. They'd all be up for Church the following morning, but the day would be their one for rest where the girls were permitted to do whatever they pleased.

Just once Abby would've liked to have slept in, but that wasn't the way for the middle class, even ones so well off as they were. There were the girls to care for and laziness in the morning was a thing of the past. The morning however didn't go as expected. Once it was discovered that Tilly was missing from her bed, the entire household was in a uproar, frantically searching for her. By the time they'd found her in the kitchen, Abby had been on the verge of tears and in a real panic. There wasn't time for anger or admonishment for the little girl. It plain enough to see that she felt awful about having caused such a commotion, offering her own tearful apologies, working herself up into near hysterics. It was Mrs. Davis who'd stepped in and diffused the situation, dismissing the other students to continue to get ready for class, leaving it to Abby to care for Tilly.

Mrs. Brickston started breakfast while Abby sat herself down with Tilly in the corner with Connor on the other side of the girl. Tilly could only continue to weep, barely stringing her words together and making little sense. In the end, all Abby could do was hold her until she'd cried herself out while Connor rubbed her back. By the time Tilly was composed, it was time to get on with the day. Abby took her to help her dress and clean up before meeting the others in the dining hall for breakfast. When the first classes of the day had begun, they'd more or less put the morning's upset behind them. Tilly had been reluctant to leave Abby's side, but when Connor offered her his hand and one of his winning, dimpled smiles, she'd gone with him happily.

A short while later, Abby was sat upon a blanket under the big white oak in the garden looking up at the window at her husband as he taught the youngest girls their mathematics lesson. She could just barely make out the top of Tilly's blond head. She exhaled and commenced her own lesson. She looked to her four eldest students, the ones who would soon graduate and go out into the world and find their own paths. She'd been like them once, more or less alone in the world. Once she'd been out of school and gone on to University, she'd had no one but herself to rely upon. Jack still had a couple more years to go and she worried about him, and worried about him still, wondering how he was faring back at home. She'd never connected with any of the foster families she'd lived with and had been independent all her life until she'd met Connor. She understood everything the four gathered around here were about to face. However, one thing she'd definitely had a leg up on over them was the very subject of the class.

Abby had found that anything to do with women's health was always spoken about behind closed doors, hushed tones or generally dismissed. Fortunately, Abby knew more than most of the women in the present with the advent of having lived so far in the future. She had experience, knowledge and even wisdom to pass on and something about that fact made Abby feel remarkably proud. She'd never seen herself as a mentor before, but to the four young women before her, she was.

They had already covered topics such as the reproductive system, they nature of their 'monthly courses', as they were called, as well as having a good old gabfest about the inconveniences of it all. Now as another term was coming to an end and the four girls with her would be leaving, it was time to discuss the one thing that they had no mothers to advise them upon. Abby was sure daughters were spoken with about it about at some point before they married, but she was all there was for these girls. It was up to her to prepare them for the reality of sex. Today's lesson would be a beginning to future conversations, with more to come as the girls grew bolder with their questions.

It had taken Abby several years and several disastrous relationships before she learned about herself, her body and how it was that love made all the difference. In her year alone in the Cretaceous with Connor, the two of them, with nothing but time on their hands, had explored and learned every facet of each other - body and soul. While she knew what she and Connor had was special, she didn't believe it was so unique that the girls in her care couldn't also find it for themselves. If they could learn from her experiences, then when they met someone who could potentially be their one and only, they'd at least be able to do what it took to make it real and make it last a lifetime.

Love was one thing, the ultimate, but with that also came the physical aspect. The previous week they'd tackled their own anatomy and the very embarrassing subject of masturbation. Abby reasoned with them that they had to know their own bodies otherwise how could they be whole women when entering into a partnership with another person? This day however brought them to a lesson about men. The girls had seen replicas of a Greek and Roman statues. They'd looked at prints of artwork through history. They were all aware of the _male organ_ and its purpose.

She'd begun the lesson with illustrations from Gray's Anatomy, reading from the book and helping them understand the scientific side things. The girls both giggled and recoiled and Abby smiled with mirth. Afterwards, she closed the book and her smile remained. She ducked her head and felt a bit of blush come to her cheeks.

"It's actually quite wonderful," she spoke. "Being with a man, intimately." She looked up at the four young women and her smile broadened. "Wonderful doesn't even begin to describe it!" She laughed and the girls looked at her with wide, curious eyes. Abby wasn't about to give them explicit details about what she and Connor got up to, but she was willing to share enough to not make the girls fear their first times. "The first thing to know is that... words like fornication, your wifely duties, amourous congress, and all that are just society's words for it. It's making love. It's two people giving to each other and taking in return. It's showing with your bodies what you feel in your hearts. Love is the biggest part of it, but of course it's about your bodies too. The first time he enters you, it's often uncomfortable. It's foreign and unexpected a feeling. It can hurt and there's a great deal of pressure, especially if he's larger than average, but if you're relaxed, ready for him and he's gentle, then it's very nice. It isn't always incredibly pleasurable the first few times, but as you get used to each other and your body learns to respond to his, it's quite extraordinary." The girls listened in rapt attention, trying to wrap their minds around the concept. "His touch, his kisses, the words he says, the way he moves, it'll manipulate your body and your mind too. You'll learn how to move with him, how to seek out your own pleasure. You'll follow your instincts and your body will take care of the rest."

She paused, waiting for one of them to ask a question, but all were her captive audience, so she continued. "Now, it's not always slow and romantic. It can get rather, um... _vigorous_, but so long as there's trust between you and your husband, you can abandon yourself to it. There's no right or wrong way to make love, it's whatever you both want. There's different positions too and they each have their benefits."

Connor loved books and often trolled the shops for anything that piqued his interest. On afternoon he'd found a copy of the Kama Sutra and brought it home to her. He'd not intended it to be part of Abby's Health and Sexuality lessons, but it had come in handy. Abby showed them pictures, described more what it actually felt like and then came the questions and her answers.

By the end of the hour they'd been sitting in the garden, Abby felt she'd given her students a optimistic as well as realistic expectation of what that aspect of a marriage could offer them. There would be more lessons to come, but for the present, she had one singular piece of advice to offer them.

"Never marry for anything but love. Love can see you through the very worst of times and give you something to fight for to make everything better. Nothing should ever be more important. It's the only thing you'll ever need to survive in this world. If you have a partner, someone to share everything with who loves you as much as you do them, then you've got everything. Never settle for anything less than the whole of his heart, and trust that you can give him all of yours."

Abby looked up to the window and saw Connor standing there watching her. Tilly was by his side and waved at her and Abby waved back. Her eyes met Connor's and she felt and great swell of emotion flood her. She must've had a soppy look on her face because the girls all burst into laughter.

"Oh quiet you lot!" Abby admonished them. "I love him!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After the evening meal and the girls went off to complete their nightly routines, Connor and Abby took Tilly with them for walk. It had been Connor's idea, sensing that the little girl was still upset for a variety of unknown reasons. They'd tried to get her to talk about why she'd been in the kitchen instead of her bed, but it had only brought on tears and snivels without any sort of intelligible explanation. It was clear enough the child was in a terrible state of fear and wouldn't be able to express herself before she was ready. Until that time Abby and Connor both knew that what she needed was to feel secure and safe. The first four years of Tilly's life were unknown, but Abby was certain she'd been abused, though the nature of that abuse was a mystery and Abby doubted Tilly could properly remember details enough to be able to shed light on why she was seized by these moments of intense fear and sorrow.

Each taking one of Tilly's hand in theirs, Connor and Abby walked with her between them. She squeezed so tight their hands ached. Tilly looked down at their feet and sniffled occasionally as they walked along. The older pair shared a concerned look between them. Abby hadn't much trouble getting the older girls to open up if they seemed concerned about something, but no matter how much she talked with Tilly as she held her each night, the little girl never spoke up. The only thing either adult could do was to continue caring for Tilly, earning her trust and making sure she knew she was safe. It was what any child needed and what Abby had never had herself but was all too happy to give now.

They wandered together in silence, passing through their neighbourhood to the High Street where the shops were closing for the day. They knew they'd made an error in judgement when the crowds of people returning home seemed to encroach too much upon the trio and Tilly broke from Connor to hide herself against Abby.

"Give me a minute, yeah?" Connor asked, laying his hand to the back of Tilly's head and stroking her soft blond hair. He darted across the street and Abby observed him quizzically as he caught one man just as he was locking up his shop. Abby watched as Connor implored the man to let him in, pointing towards Abby and Tilly, at which point the man's demeanour softened and he led Connor inside. After a few minutes, Connor emerged with a wrapped bundle under his arm and a smile on his face. He vigorously shook the man's hand and thanked him before returning to the two he'd left on the other side of the street.

He went down on one knee and touched Tilly's shoulder, asking her to look at him. She turned her face to him and smiled slightly at the broad grin on his face. Then, he unwrapped the brown paper of the package in his hands to reveal a small, soft replica of a rabbit. The inside of its ears were fashioned from pink satin while the rest was sewn with Calico cotton. It had two blue ceramic buttons for eyes and its nose and smile were embroidered. It was a lovely little thing, almost as pretty as the child herself.

Tilly stared at the gift with wide, questioning eyes. She'd never had anything so precious in all her life. Her every need was provided for at the school, but there weren't any toys really, or anything soft to cuddle at night when it was dark and lonely. All the other girls were too old for dolls and little girl toys and it was easy to forget that Tilly was still so very young.

Connor pressed the rabbit to Tilly's chest and she let go of Abby to wrap her arms around it.

"Thought you might like a new friend," Connor spoke as he pressed a gentle kiss to the girl's forehead. Abby's arm came around Tilly's shoulders and she felt her heart fill with love as Tilly suddenly grabbed for Connor, flinging one arm around his neck and hugging him tightly. Connor wrapped his own arms around her small frame and embraced her in return. Abby swallowed down the lump of emotion in her throat. She hoped there wouldn't be any jealously because of her and Connor's special treatment of Tilly, but in that moment she knew he'd done the right thing by their tiny charge. Tilly was a child still and should have child things. She needed to be coddled and loved and they had both taken her into their hearts.

Connor rose and shared a warm, loving look with Abby, who took Tilly's hand in hers, leading them back towards the school. By the time they returned, it was obvious Tilly's mood was much improved. Abby escorted her to her room where the other girls were about to get ready for bed. They kept to the same routine, with Abby tucking in each of the younger girls and ending with Tilly. With the soft, plush rabbit clutched to her chest, Tilly snuggled with Abby and for once, fell asleep quickly.

After the house had fallen silent and Abby had said her goodnights to Mrs. Davis, Louise and the others, she entered the apartment she shared with Connor, finding him already stripped down and in bed. He was reclined with his eyes closed. She'd have thought he'd have been pouring over their manuscript, but it seemed he'd temporarily forgotten about it. They'd had a long day and they were both tired from lack of sleep from the night before. Plus, while the book was important, it didn't take precedent over the needs of the wounded soul of a little girl.

"Tilly get to sleep alright?" he asked in a quiet voice, opening his eyes as the door clicked shut. Abby nodded and walked over to her husband as she began to remove her clothes. As he did each night, Connor undid the laces of her corset and caressed her bare back as the constraining garment was pealed away. She parted from him and hung her clothes up in their shared armoire before slipping her night shift over her nude body.

Climbing into bed, Connor welcomed her with a deep, passionate kiss, his touch lighting the fires of desire within her.

"Didn't you want to look at the book?" Abby questioned, even as she moved her hair aside to grant him further access to her skin. His lips upon her sent a ripple of pure pleasure through her. She wasn't terribly inclined to stop his amorous attentions despite her curiosity towards the contents of the stolen manuscript being as great as his.

"Mmm hmm, very much so, but Abby... god you smell good!" He breathed her in and continued his succulent kisses along the column of her throat as his hand palmed her breast through the fabric of her shift. "So soft..." he purred. His hand moved and snuck under the fabric to rub his rough hand over her nipple as his fingers tensed and massaged her flesh.

She was desperate at this point, both to find out what secrets the book held as well as to make love with him again. The present time had to be devoted to the book. With a sigh, she touched her hand to his cheek and leaned into him, lovingly caressing him. She looked to her bedside table and the little jar of carrot seed paste. Countless times in the Cretaceous they'd had to put practicalities ahead of their love for each other.

"Connor, if we can find a way to make it home... we could start a family..." she spoke. He sobered instantly, pulling away from her. There was a funny, sort of shocked look on his face that she could only feel pity for. A child between them was something he desperately wanted and it was partly conditional on whether or not they could make it back to the 21st century. However, part of her wondered if he didn't want to leave this time at all. She knew the truth, in that he'd be happy to stay, so long as she was with him. She would be happy wherever he was, but not to the same extent. She kissed him softly and offered him an encouraging smile. "I'll get the book."

He nodded, but before letting her go, grasped her hand, kissing her palm with his eyes closed. She rose from the bed and retrieved the manuscript from its hiding spot, passing it to him before climbing back under the covers next to him. She reclined against his chest and his arm wound around her waist with his hand settling comfortably over her stomach as he brought up his knees and laid the book in his lap.

"Feels like it's going to crumble in me hands," he spoke, touching the leather bound cover. It was tooled in the style of the era, but not as ornate as a bible or King's book would've been. There was no gilding or adornment otherwise. As had been described on the placard at the museum it was the personal journal of the English astronomer Thomas Greyson. Connor admitted, he'd never heard of the man or his work. He opened the first page and saw the man's personal signature along with the year, 1640. The ink was brown and faded, but the writing clear. He turned to the first page and together they read of the man's first discovering of the portals, the illuminated and brilliant shards of light he found in the woods near his home.

"The Forest of Dean!" Abby gasped.

"Knew that spot was significant. It's always been where the strongest anomalies opened!" Connor's entire body vibrated with excitement and it stirred something in Abby too. Connor read on, faster than she could keep up with as he scoured the pages. After a while, Abby couldn't continue and as the information on the pages delved deep into the scientific, she found herself growing sleepy. It wasn't that she didn't comprehend, in fact all her time with Connor had given her a rather comprehensive grasp of physics and the nature of the anomalies, but rather the information was dry to her mind while it ignited Connor's. It was always that way with him, his creative thinking got a hold and he'd not rest until he'd exhausted all possibilities.

She reclined further against him and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

At some point, he'd extricated himself from their bed to work at his desk, as when she woke several hours later she was alone. She squinted in the dim light of the gas-lit lamp above his desk and found him sitting there with one hand scribbling madly on a piece of paper, dripping ink all over the page while the other turned the pages of the books back and forth. She yawned and stretched. He was totally engrossed in his work and oblivious to anything around him. She looked to the clock on the mantle and was amazed that it was nearly two in the morning. She'd been asleep for nearly five hours. They'd be up with the sun and he needed at least a couple hours sleep to get through the first day of the week.

"Conn?" she called softly. "Connor?"

His brain kicked in a few moments later as the pen rolled from his hand and he looked up from the book. He turned to her, looking bleary eyed and exhausted, but with a smile on his face. "It's brilliant. Greyson was brilliant!" he spoke with total awe in his voice. "He was a genius. Beyond me! It's so simple, Abby, you won't believe it!"

"What do you mean?"

"I could've spent my life sussing it out, but he did it in just three years!"

"The anomalies? What did he find out?"

"The pattern! There is one! Cutter believed there was, and I could almost see it, but the solution eluded me. Greyson mapped it out, like you saw in the book, but he took it to the n'th degree. He absolutely solved it and beyond even that, Abby, he worked out an equation, and it works! It bloody works!"

"Equation? What are you saying?" She sat up and started intensely at him. His enthusiasm was undeniable.

"Abby, we can go home." She gasped, her eyes growing wide. He grinned at her, practically bouncing in his chair. "It's what I've been doing all night! Putting in the data I remember from all the anomalies we encountered - their dates, the times they opened, their locations and it works out, every time!"

"We can go home? Really?"

He nodded, but then sobered. "Well, yes, we can, but..."

"Connor..."

"See, the thing of it is... I can work out each equation because I have every factor, but if one's missing, then I have to work backwards to find the missing integer and well... that's bloody hard."

"Oh..."

"It's not impossible! I can do this!"

"Hush, Connor. I know you can. Will it take long?"

"I have no idea... I've got my head around it, now I just have to start speculating, experimenting. I could get the answer in a few days, or a few years. I just don't know Abby. It would help if I could get the detector working, but..." He yawned suddenly and rubbed his eyes.

"Tomorrow. Come to bed, you need sleep."

He shook his head. "Couldn't if I tried, m'brain's going a mile a minute..."

A sly smile appeared on her face, knowing full well how she could stop his mind from racing. "Connor, come to bed," she bade.

"But Abby..." His protest fell silent when let her shift fall off one shoulder and reveal a bare breast to him. She pushed aside the rest of her nightgown, exposing herself to him completely. She divested herself of it entirely and lay back, enticing him further by moving her hands over her body. He needed little more encouragement, rising from his desk and casting off the sheet he'd pulled around his waist. His desire for her was evident and immediate. She welcomed him with a kiss that left him breathless, and she found herself equally so as he surged into her. Moving together, losing themselves in each movement and the pleasure wrought, they focused on each other only and the thoughts of finally returning home to their own time.

_Thank you kindly to everyone who's reading this story. It's had over 1000 views. I'd really love it if some of you who are reading would take the time to let me know what you think of this tale. It really does mean the world to an author to receive encouragement._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next couple of weeks proved to be ones of distraction, at least for Connor. Abby tried to keep the usual chaos of their daily lives from him so he could concentrate on working on Greyson's equation and applying it to discovering when an anomaly might next open, and if it may lead to anywhere near to their own time. It was agreed upon between them that they'd go through any anomaly that took them five years into their past or their future from the point they'd disappeared. If one couldn't be found, then they'd stay in their present world and live out their lives, start a family, and be content.

At the same time Connor was more determined than ever to create for them some sort of anomaly detector, so that if they were able to predict an anomaly's opening using Greyson's equation, they'd also be able to find it. It seemed the only thing that could bring Connor away from his desk was Tilly. Ever since he'd gifted her with her plush rabbit, who she'd named Fauna, it seemed the little girl's attachment to Abby had expanded to include Connor too. She was content just to be near him, wanting to sit by him as he worked, happy to practice her studies or draw him pictures of the three of them and Fauna, all hand in hand like a family. During this time, Abby felt a strange change come over her, one she couldn't quite define, but it resulted in the compulsion to take comfort in holding Tilly when previously she'd only given it. The closer Connor seemed to get to achieving a result in his research, the more Abby secretly wished he wouldn't. She warred with herself and tried her best to put the notions to the back of her mind. She wanted to go home. At the same time, it didn't feel right anymore.

"Earth to Abby! Hello, love? Anyone home?" Connor's bemused voice broke through her thoughts and she gave her head a shake. "Usually it's me who's off in his own head, not you. Penny for your thoughts?"

"Never mind me," she replied, brushing him off and distracting him with her hand rubbing his inner thigh. They were gathered in the common room of the house where Louise sat reading by the window and Mrs. Davis and Murgatroyd played cards in the corner over snifters of brandy. It wasn't uncommon for them all to sit together some nights, mostly to discuss the goings on of the school, but sometimes just for the company. They had after all created a rather special sort of family.

Connor had been surreptitiously working on his equations, under the guise of reviewing his students' work whilst Abby pretended to read the evening newspaper as her thoughts churned in her head.

"Can't hide from me, love," he spoke in a whisper.

"It's nothing, promise." She pointed to an article in the Evening Standard, indicating that the police had put a halt to the active investigation into the theft of the Greyson manuscript from the Imperial Science Museum. Their dalliance in thievery had made the front page of the papers the next day, the crime being rather strange and sensational and perking the interest of many. More had been revealed regarding Greyson's history from the museum's curator. It seemed that Greyson had been a well respected scientist and astronomer who'd been burned at the stake, accused of devil worship. The villagers and the church had deemed him so after he'd been connected to a series of bloody sacrifices of both people and their livestock. It was recorded that he could summon balls of fire and light and heinous beasts from within them. He'd protested his innocence, but had been found guilty and put to death. Connor reasoned that was why his name or research had never come to public knowledge in the 21st century. For one, it was believed Greyson was either possessed or had descended into lunacy, and secondly, his scientific findings had been dismissed due to the nature of his demise. The man's diaries had been cached away by the local church until being discovered some twenty years previously in the crypt underneath the crumbling edifice's reliquary room. They were sent on to London to be researched and analyzed by the museum.

No one had really been able to make heads or tails of the last diary's contents, but it was a piece of historical interest. Given Greyson's other books contained vast star and planet maps, the stolen book had been included in the exhibit as a curio piece.

It did amuse Connor and Abby to note that the police suspected a Satanic cult of some sort of having done the deed. Abby however took offence at the night watchmen she'd knocked out telling everyone he was certain it had been a man in woman's clothing that had taken him down. As time had worn on and no leads had surfaced, the case had been put aside for more urgent and important ones. It appeared they'd got away with their crime.

"We should turn in," Abby whispered. Her hand inched upwards and Connor quickly crossed his leg over the other, effectively trapping her hand, but at least obscuring what she'd been about to reach.

"Abby!" he hissed as he glared at her. She took her hand away and patted his knee before rising, saying their goodnights to the others before taking him by the hand and leading him through the silent house. Once inside their space, Connor set his pages down upon his desk and sighed. "I might have something. Don't want to get your hopes up or anything, but it's a something. Maybe."

"Go on," she encouraged as she settled herself on their sofa. He leaned against his desk and showed her the page he'd been working on.

"The first two bits are the equations for the anomaly that lead us here - the first's from on the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Squamish. The second is the same from this side. If you compare the two, the result is the same figure. _That_ in and of itself is beyond amazing. It's the key, Abby. It's taken a couple of weeks to actually clue in to use the numbers from both sides, but when it clicked, everything fell into place. Now, it's not a solution to getting us home, but if I take the factors using the same location, longitude, latitude, et cetera from our arrival point, I can then input a variable series of dates and times. I've been working through them for the past few days at the same time as working on one from the perspective of one opening on home's side, and I've found two that match up to the same result. It's not definite, but it could be our anomaly home."

Abby took a deep breath, obviously shaken by Connor's words. "When...?"

"Um... three weeks from Sunday."

"Three weeks? Three weeks!" Her breathing suddenly increased and tears formed in her eyes. It was too soon. It was too much.

Connor traversed the room quickly and sat with her, taking her hands in his. "I know it's a lot to take in, love. But it's thrilling, isn't it? We might be able to go home!" Abby was too shook up to reply and Connor mistook it for being overwhelmed with happiness at the prospect of returning to their own time. "This unfortunately gives me less than a month to finish off my detector, but I had myself another eureka moment. Clockworks!"

"Clockworks?"

"Remember how I said I needed a steady, constant charge to fuel the power cells I scavenged from our iPhones? I saw Murgatroyd winding the clock on the mantle in the lounge yesterday and it dawned on me. The gears in a clock would be perfect, well, a watch, actually. I can't imagine carrying around a clock, can you? I asked Murgatroyd this morning who the best was in town and he said there's a fellow down near Battersea called Strauss. He keeps a small shop, but does things to order. Really, I'm hoping to give him specs and he can take what he's probably already got and adapt it for me. I just need the gears, really. I could probably come up with something myself if I had longer. We should go see him, I was thinking Saturday evening maybe..." Abby put her fingers to his lips, effectively silencing him. "I'm talking too much, aren't I?" he mumbled against her fingers. She nodded her head and sighed, taking her fingers away. "It's a lot to take in after a year of not knowing if we'd ever see our London again. But we're together, that's all that really matters, right?"

She nodded, closing her eyes and leaning in to kiss him softly, sensually, taking strength from the love they shared and anchoring herself to him. She couldn't think about what their immediate future would hold. She lost herself in her husband, her soulmate and held fast to him, banishing all other thoughts from her mind.

Two Saturdays later they found themselves making their way back to the shop of master horologist Henry Strauss to collect the finished component Connor needed to power his anomaly detection device. They were a good ways from home and it was dark as they walked close together down the side streets. Connor kept his arm securely around Abby's waist, her body turned into his and covered up save for her face. As they'd learned when they'd first come, it wasn't the best of neighbourhoods after the sun went down.

The streets weren't roamed by prostitutes and drunks like those of which were found in Whitechapel, but they'd run across a couple of men who'd shouted rather lewd comments at Abby and Connor had shouted back. There'd nearly been a confrontation. Abby had spirited him away and mercifully they'd found the shop before the men had caught up with them and been gone by the time they'd got back to the street that led them to where they could catch a cab to take them back to the train home.

Connor's discussion with Strauss had been an interesting one, with Connor trying to describe what he wanted and fibbing and bluffing his way through its purpose. He spun a tale about wanting to create clockwork toys that moved mechanically, powered much like a wound watch. Connor had promised the man that if he could bring his vision to life, then they could work together and reap the rewards. Connor had spun such an enthusiastic and convincing pitch that Abby could've well imagined that the purpose of the clockwork device genuinely was for toys and not a device for detecting temporal rifts in the fabric of the universe.

His colourful and persuasive story had secured Strauss and now they were returning to collect. Connor had told her he'd wanted to come alone, but given the near incident from the last time, she'd have none of it. They were partners and she'd not have him go off on his own, especially into a bad neighbourhood. She'd managed to defend herself against prehistoric creatures, she could certainly handle a few thugs if need be. Connor however, feeling equally as protective of her, kept her in the circle of his arm and a dark glower on his face as they moved swiftly to their destination.

The sound of footsteps on the cobble stones half a block behind them first alerted them to potential trouble. Abby risked a quick glance behind them. There were four men and they looked rough. She swore under her breath.

"C'mon, we have to hurry," Abby spoke quietly, taking Connor's hand in hers. They were close to the shop, but not close enough to reach it before the ones behind them caught up. Despite being dressed in their simple clothes, they still looked far more well to do than most of the area's residents. The pair didn't usually carry much of value with them. They'd wisely left their 21st century tech back at the school, but there were their wedding rings and tonight, the extra money Connor had with him to pay Strauss.

"We could face them," Connor. "I did take out a raptor if you recall."

"Yes, but you had a spear and we'd been living in the Cretaceous for eight months. They could have knives or a pistol and I can't fight near as well in a dress!"

"This way, shortcut!" Connor darted down a side street, knowing it led around to nearly the front of Strauss' shop. The shop itself was located between a bakery and a tailor's and generally safer than where the train station had been situated and forced them to walk. If worse came to worse there was a pub on the corner they could spend the night in rather than try and make it back to the school. "We'll double back, head to the High Street."

The plan would've worked, had the gang not numbered six instead of just the four that had been following them. Connor and Abby rounded the corner and nearly ran head long into two others, one of which struck out and cold cocked Connor, snapping his head back and immediately starting his nose bleeding. Connor was dazed and saw stars before his eyes, vaguely hearing Abby call out his name when a second punch struck his cheek. He staggered backwards and tried to force his head to clear. He clenched his fists and advanced, ready to fight with Abby by his side.

She'd already managed to down one of the two, having delivered a firm kick to his knee that had knocked him to the ground. He was struggling back to his feet when she landed another kick to the centre of his chest, sending him back to the ground. It was the last blow she got in as the others had caught up to aid their comrades.

"Jonesy! Morton! Take care of the bird, we'll put her gentleman down and meet you back on Redburn Street," shouted the one that had punched Connor. He was a big man, a head taller than the rest and broad as an ox. Connor vaguely heard Abby's muffled calls for him as two of the men forcibly dragged her away. She fought them tooth and nail, but they'd twisted her arms behind her back and one had his hands clamped firmly around the back of her head and over her mouth.

Fearing for both his and Abby's lives, Connor gathered his courage and stormed forwards, landing a solid punch to the face of the one Abby had roughed up. There was a satisfying crunch against the man's cheekbone and he dropped backwards, knocked out cold. The remaining two that had been following him jumped in and Connor dodged and wove their blows and he landed his own to their midsections and under their chins. Still, as good as he was, he was outnumbered and soon enough they got the upper hand. With blows to his back and kidneys, slams into his face, little by little they weakened, exhausted and disoriented Connor enough that when the first man came for his turn Connor was defenceless against the fist connecting with his jaw.

He felt the blackness engulf him, his last thought being of Abby. He lay unconscious on the stones next to the man he'd taken out, unaware that someone had heard the commotion and come to his aid. He didn't hear the shouts or the sickening crunch of solid, polished wood cracking skulls.

When it was over, four men were left dazed and damaged, barely conscious. Connor's rescuer knelt down beside his prone body, checking for a pulse and letting out a sigh of relief when he found it was strong.

"Bloody hell, Connor," the man asked in dismay. "What on earth are you doing in Victorian London?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Abby ignored the burning pain in the muscles of her arms as the two thugs forced her down a darkened alley. She dug her heels into the ground and jerked and fought against them with every step. She knew Connor must be in a terrible state. She refused to let the notion that he'd been killed enter her thoughts. He was strong and a resourceful fighter. He'd be able to hold his own. He stood a chance to survive. Hopefully they'd take his money and leave him be. Her predicament was worse however. It didn't take a genius to figure out what six men had in mind for one woman. With only two of them with her at the present, she had to take any opportunity to save herself, consequences be damned. If the other four caught up to them, she knew it would be over for her.

"Here, up against the bricks," the one holding her arms ordered. "I want her first, before Digger gets here. You know they're not worth nothing after he's done with 'em!"

"Hurry up then, mate!" the other growled. "I want her too! I'll hold her for you, you get her skirts up."

Abby knew she had this one chance to save herself. As soon as the one holding her arms loosened his grip, she twisted herself and hauled back, sending her elbow straight into his nose. He cried out and let go of her, his hands flying to his face to hold his broken nose.

"The bitch! Cuff her one Jonesy!" he snarled. The back hand to her face was damn hard, but Abby managed to shake it off. The one whose nose she'd broken closed his arms around her upper body. "I'm going to ruin you, you little slag!"

His partner drew back his fist, ready to wallop Abby with all his might when an ear piercing scream echoed all around them. Abby's eyes widened in absolute horror as she beheld the tiny figure of a little blond girl at the mouth of the alley, clutching a soft cotton rabbit to her chest.

"Tilly!" Abby gasped, feeling her heart and stomach clench in fear. A moment later, Abby felt something awake in her, an instinct so strong she was consumed by it. She'd sooner die than let any of them touch her little girl.

*!*!*

"Oy! Niall! Get out 'ere!" the man hollered back towards the open door of the pub's kitchen, which looked out on to the alley.

"Sir?" came a concerned Irish lilt in the form of a young man of twenty-two whose strapping, muscled body belied his gentle nature. The blond Irishman's blue eyes widened at the sight out the back of the pub where he pulled pints and cleaned up. Five bodies lay on the ground and his master knelt beside one, his wooden baton still gripped in his hand. "What's happened?"

"Digger and his gang again. This is the last time, I swear. Listen, Niall, we've got to get this one inside. Take him up to my missus and tell her to take care of him. He's my friend." The man noticed the golden wedding band on Connor's hand and he frowned. "Two of Digger's are missing and so's this man's wife. I'm going to look for her."

"The missus won't like that..."

"Niall, do as I ask. This isn't up for debate - with you or my wife."

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir." Niall knelt down and with help got Connor secure enough to drag inside and up the stairs to the flats above the pub.

"Never mind it, Niall, there's a good lad. If I'm not back in ten, get a copper, yeah?"

"Yes, sir."

The man gripped the truncheon in his hand, scowled at the mongrels on the ground and stalked off down the alley in search of Abby.

!*!*!

"I'll get her! Digger'll have her, you know he likes 'em young!" the one with the clenched fist seethed. Abby wanted to shout at Tilly to run, but knew it would be a foolish move. The man would catch up to her in seconds. Abby was her only hope. Summoning a mountain of strength, Abby used the leverage of her assailant's grip around her upper body, drew her legs up and hooked her foot around the back of the other's neck at the same time as shoving the heel on her other foot into the centre of his face. There was a dull, sickly thud, then a crunch and his fist dropped to his side. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and several of his teeth fell straight out of his mouth. He fell backwards like a plank and didn't move after he crashed to the ground. Tilly continued to sob and scream for her _"Mummy!"_ while Abby finally managed to struggle free of her captor.

Knowing she needed to take him down as well so she and Tilly could escape before the others came, Abby whipped around to face him, rolled her shoulders forwards and slipped into a fighting stance. Her clothes certainly hindered her, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve in knowing there were nerves in the arms and neck she could shock and give herself an extra moment to strike.

He pushed himself from the wall, advancing with a cold deadly anger in his stare, but it was no match for the one in Abby's. When he reached into his jacket and drew out a knife with a six inch blade, she knew the stakes had been dangerously raised. She scanned the alley for anything she could use as a weapon, finding nothing but a few crumbled bits of brick and nothing of which would suffice against a knife. Behind her Tilly screamed again and Abby longed to comfort her.

There was only one chance, Abby knew she had to perfectly aim an outside sweeping kick to the man's hand to dislodge the knife. There wouldn't be a second chance.

Abby felt fear grip her heart when suddenly a second figure emerged from the shadows. She was convinced both she and Tilly were in grave danger, but instead, a solid, polished straight of wood, very much like a baseball bat, whizzed through the air and connected soundly with the attacker's head, knocking him out and sending him back against the brick wall. Abby's eyes widened in complete and utter shock. There was no mistaking her saviour's kind eyes, his lopsided smile or the swath of ginger hair.

"Danny!" she gasped.

"Hello, Abby," he grinned. "Still getting into as much trouble as usual, I see."

She smiled despite all the chaos around her. Behind her Tilly broke into great heaving sobs and the moment of relief passed. Abby whirled around and raced to the little girl, scooping her up into her arms. Tilly was just small enough for Abby to carry on her own as the child wrapped her arms and legs around Abby's small frame and wept against her.

"Connor..." Abby began. Danny, sensing the urgency and danger, abandoned his mirth and quickly ushered her back towards the pub.

"He's this way. He's safe, my man's taking care of him. Who's the girl?"

"It's a long story. Just as long as yours probably is." The pair raced back the way they'd come, both eager to get off the streets and into a safe haven. Tilly continued to cry and cleave to Abby, who could only hold her tightly. Abby was confused, tired and shaken, but at the same time felt remarkably happy to have found her long lost friend and that he'd saved her husband. Danny ushered her inside and directed her up the stairs at the back of the kitchen. Abby could hear dozens of voices coming from the main part of the pub as patrons gathered for a night of drinking and merriment.

"It's this way, Abby," Danny informed her, pointing to a door on the left side of the hallway. He guided her with his hand on her shoulder as he reached around and opened the door, revealing a typical and very inviting Victorian sitting room. The gas was lit and the room fairly bright, showing Abby a clear view of comfortable furniture, wallpapered walls and a large Persian rug over the floorboards. "Molly?" Danny called out.

From a room to the right there appeared a striking young woman with wild, curly strawberry blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What are you doing Danny Quinn, having poor Niall drag a half dead man into our home and..." Her harsh words fell away at the sight of a distraught Abby with a sobbing child in her arms. She halted her gait and straightened her shoulders. She looked at Abby with kindness and empathy in her eyes. "He's not half dead, just battered and bruised. Come this way, dearest, I've cleaned him up. It's not a pretty sight, but at least that handsome nose of his isn't broken!"

Molly turned on her heels and went back where she'd come from with Abby following close behind. Abby felt a wave of panic crash over at the sight of her husband laying inert on the bed, his face bright red and turning purple where his bruises and black eyes were coming up. The knuckles on both hands were swollen and some of the skin had broken. His shirt was open and another bruise was forming at his side. Abby had never seen him so damaged. She wanted nothing more than to smother him with kisses and caresses, but she still had Tilly in her arms.

How in all the world Tilly had been in the alley remained a mystery and a very scary one at that. Furthermore she'd witnessed the attack on Abby and possibly the one on Connor as well. She'd cried out for her mother. In all the time she'd known Tilly she'd never once mentioned her mother, most having assumed she'd forgotten her. For the present however, what mattered was that a very vulnerable little girl had witnessed something traumatic and needed to be calmed and comforted.

At first Tilly wouldn't let go of Abby when she tried to put her down, therefore Abby sat herself down next to Connor at his hip and carefully unlocked the child's arms from around her neck. She cupped the girl's face in her hands and kissed her forehead, whispering cajoling words and stroking her cheeks until her sobs calmed to hiccups and snivels.

"Tilly?" Abby spoke softly, meeting her eyes and getting her to focus. "Listen to me, sweetheart. Connor's been hurt and he needs us to take care of him." Tilly cast a glance beside her at Connor's prone body and she began to shake. "Can you hold his hand for me? I know he'd really like it if you would. Maybe Fauna could lay beside him on the pillow. Hmm?"

After a few moments of staring at him, Tilly placed her plush rabbit at Connor's neck and moved from Abby's lap to sit at his shoulder. She frowned and touched his cheek gently with her fingertips.

"Mister Connor?" she asked, placing her small hand over his cheek, her voice meek. "Wake up, Mister Connor, please?"

Abby inched in closer, putting her arm around Tilly and her hand to Connor's bare chest. "Connor? Connor wake up," Abby implored. There was nothing for a moment and then there was a slight groan from him before he winced and made another painfilled sound. He opened his eyes, barely, and was met with the faces of two beautiful girls looking on in worry.

"Abby?" he spoke, barely above a whisper.

"I'm here, Conn. You're safe, it's over."

"You?"

"I'm okay."

He smiled, wincing again from a bruise to his jaw. That was when he noticed the tiny hand stroking his cheek. He looked upon Tilly with confusion, but tightened his hand around hers. "Tilly? Wha... how?"

"I don't know, Connor. We'll figure it out. You can just rest for now, alright? Tilly's going to stay with you and I'll be here too if you need me. Rest." He nodded and closed his eyes. Abby leaned over him and brushed her lips against his, a kiss he returned with as much power as he could muster. "Tilly, I need you to look after him for me. Can you do that?" The child nodded her head and pulled her legs up under her, cuddling close against Connor's side. "I need to talk with my friend. I'm not going far, so you don't have to worry. Alright?"

"Yes Missus Abby. I'll take care of Mister Connor."

"There's a good girl." Abby kissed Tilly's forehead before walking to where Danny and the woman who was clearly his wife stood waiting outside the bedroom. She took one look at Danny and threw her arms around her long lost friend. "Am I ever glad to see you!"

"Likewise!" he replied, returning her embrace.

"Thank you, thank you. If you hadn't been there..."

"Looked to me like you were holding your own. Glad I could get to Connor though. Abby, how are you two even here?" They came apart and Abby sighed, pressing her fingertips to her forehead. She had a terrible headache and was woefully tired from her ordeal. "Listen, never mind for now. Me n' Molly'll take care of you. Why don't you lie down with Connor and have a rest?"

"Thank you, but there's so much we need to do. I have to get to Strauss as soon a possible or he'll think we've stiffed him..."

"Strauss? The clockmaker up the block?" She nodded. "I can send Niall."

"Could you? If Connor's still got the money..." She turned back to her husband, stroking Tilly's hair as she rifled around in Connor's pockets, relieved to find he'd not been robbed. She returned to Danny and passed him the money. "It's something for Connor, it's important. It has something to do with... our previous work."

Danny smiled. "Don't worry, Molly knows everything, even if she doesn't really believe me."

"None of that!" Molly scolded, giving her husband a solid nudge. "Don't you worry, Niall'll do right by you. He's a good lad. This old codger's right though, you take a rest with your husband and daughter. We'll give you some peace and quiet, at least until the twins wake up, noisy as hellbeasts they are."

"Twins?" Abby asked, eyeing Danny curiously.

"Little ginger fiends, but the loves of my life, just like this one. Now, to bed with you!" Molly ordered, turning Abby around by her shoulders before giving her husband a shove in the right direction too. As Molly closed the door behind her, Abby sighed again, ever more weary, but her heart skipped a beat as she beheld the two on the bed. Tilly was sound asleep curled up against Connor with her head resting on his shoulder and her small hand held in his. Molly had called Tilly their daughter and Abby hadn't even thought to correct her. When she'd believed the gang might've got their wretched hands on her, Abby had wanted their blood.

Too many emotions were being stirred in her and her tears began to fall. She crept towards the bed, climbed on and lay herself to Connor's other side, resting her cheek to his shoulder just as Tilly had. She snuck her hand into his and felt another wave of emotion come over her as Connor closed his around hers. She shifted and buried her face at his neck, bestowing a kiss to his skin. He made a sound but said nothing and didn't move. Overcome with the stresses of the past few days and the horrible experience they'd been through this evening, Abby succumbed to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The entire household was wakened in the middle of the night by a child's cries and screams for her mother. Both Connor and Abby were startled from their sleep when Tilly awoke from her nightmare sobbing and crying for her _Mummy_. Danny had burst into the room but upon seeing Abby and Connor both grabbing for Tilly to encircle her in their embrace, left them to help Molly with their own children as their frightened cries disrupted the other side of the flat.

Connor had recovered sufficiently in his hours of rest to take the initiative and pull Tilly into his lap and enfold her in his arms while Abby in turn pressed herself against Tilly from the other side and held on to Connor, protecting and comforting the child in a cocoon. They rocked and cajoled her, kissing her and speaking soothing words in an effort to calm her. She clung to Connor and to Fauna, her little rabbit, and drenched them both in her tears. She cried for some time and was inconsolable until finally she took a shuddering breath and bit into her bottom lip, holding in her breath until she could stop herself heaving. Abby encouraged her to take deep, calming breaths, keeping their eyes locked together so that Tilly could realize her nightmare wasn't real.

Abby and Connor shared a look and though the idea of making Tilly speak of her mother and why she was so terrified made them feel sick, they knew the child would be forever haunted if they didn't help her. In order to do that, they needed to know the source of her fear and what had happened to her mother.

"Tilly?" Abby asked softly. "I want you to tell me about Mummy." Tilly shook her head and hid her face against Connor's chest. "Tilly, please look at me." Reluctantly she did as she was asked and Abby smiled at her warmly. "Do you remember what happened to her?" The child nodded and her bottom lip trembled fiercely as her tears ran down her cheeks.

"Bad men... they hurt her," Tilly finally spoke.

"Like those men tried to hurt me?" She nodded and her entire body began to tremble violently. Connor held her tighter and with more encouragement from Abby, Tilly began to speak. They listened on, while each word from Tilly's lips filled them more and more with utter sadness and horror. She remembered things as her young mind recalled them, as she'd witnessed as a four year old little girl. Her thoughts were broken and confused, but Connor and Abby understood enough to give them a clear picture of what had occurred.

Tilly remembered being left alone after her mother rocked her to sleep, singing sweet songs until she drifted off. She always awoke, wishing her mother had been with her, finding herself alone in the bed they shared. There was always noise around her, outside the door and out in the street - men and women, laughter, shouting, crying, breaking glass, and hooves on the cobblestones. One night she'd been scared and went in search of her mother. She knew it was wrong, because Mummy had always made her promise to stay inside until she came back, but she wanted her mother so badly that she ventured out. She was small and went largely unnoticed by all the big people around her.

Mummy had always promised she'd never be far away and Tilly had found her quickly enough, but her mother was not alone. There were three men with her and they were hurting her. Tilly hadn't understood what they were doing to her, but she'd been in an alley with her back to the wall and she was crying and begging them to stop. Tilly hid herself and cried, trying to drown out the sounds and her mother's pleas with her small hands over her ears. When the men were done and left the alley, she'd crawled over to her mother's limp and battered body and tried to shake her awake. There'd been blood and her mummy's face looked like Connor's, bruised and swollen. No matter what, Tilly hadn't been able to wake her mother and had spent the rest of the night curled up against her inert form. Mummy had felt cold as snow.

After that, Tilly didn't remember much, aside from wandering the streets, being cold and hungry and crying.

Connor and Abby reached the same conclusion. Tilly's mother had likely been a prostitute, and her father a nameless, faceless rogue who'd used her as so many others had. It was also evident that Tilly's mother had loved and cared for her daughter and had tried to provide for her. She'd loved her too much to give her up and while it may have been to the child's detriment, it spoke of how powerful their bond had been. Like so many in the city, her mother had probably been a helpless and hopeless victim of a gang like the one they'd been attacked by this night. The poor little four year old girl had witnessed her beloved mother's brutal violation and murder and suppressed the memory in order to survive. Seeing Abby in a similar scenario had brought it all back to the forefront of her mind.

There was silence after Tilly spoke and Abby couldn't stop her tears from falling and nor could Connor. The ache in their hearts was unbearable. All they could manage to do was hold Tilly between them. They'd find out tomorrow how it was she'd followed after them, but for the time being they all needed rest and comfort. Connor and Abby lay back down to the bed, this time with Tilly nestled between them as Connor and Abby held each other. Tilly feel asleep again quickly and deeply, not bothered by another nightmare, secure and safe between her two protectors.

!*!*!

"Oh, love, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Connor lamented, his fingers brushing over the bruise on Abby's cheek from where she'd been struck the night before. "I'll never forgive myself."

"It was six against two, Connor," Abby reminded him, looking over his own bruises, hers paling in comparison. They lay together in bed, with the new day's light streaming in through the window. Between them, Tilly still slept on, having shifted in the night so she lay mostly on top of Connor, who didn't mind in the least. "It was bad luck and we were both scared for each other, but when they saw Tilly..." Abby swallowed hard and inched closer to the two in bed with her, wrapping her arm around them both and seeking her husband's lips for a soft kiss.

"I'd have killed them, if they'd touched her. Or you."

"She must've followed us. I knew she was clever, but to have managed to come all this way on her own. It's terrifying to even think it."

"She'd have snuck on to the back of the cab, then on to the train and followed us through the streets. God, anything could've happened to her."

"She's safe now, we all are."

"With Danny!" His grin matched hers. Finding their friend was an unexpected and very welcomed boon. A moment later the delighted squeals of children and their thunderous footsteps broke the peace of the morning. "Guess that means it's time to get up?"

"It does." Abby gently nudged Tilly awake and after a few moments the child remembered the night before, but it was Abby's smile and Connor's hug that staved off her becoming upset again. The two girls rose from the bed and Connor followed, groaning as he moved, his body stiff and sore. Abby opened the bedroom door and fast as lightening two half-dressed little ginger menaces that barely came up to her knees came racing into the room, giggling madly as they chased each other around.

"Patrick! James! You little heathens, back here with yah!" came Molly's shout. The adorable little boys stopped, shared a look between them, then resumed, running out the door and around their mother just as she approached. She looked at her guests and sighed wearily. "Breakfast will be on the table as soon as those two are sorted, Danny's doing what he calls a full English for yah. If you want to freshen up Abby, you can come with me. Connor, there's not hope for yah and you wouldn't want to try shaving over those bruises, but you can wash your face in the sink by the water-closet." With a nod she was off after her sons.

"Why do I get the impression that she's the boss around here?" Connor mused. Abby kissed him and took Tilly by the hand, following after Molly.

!*!*!

Abby descended the staircase into the kitchen behind Connor, whom Tilly was taking charge of and leading past where Danny was cooking on the stove. Abby smiled watching Tilly guiding the stiffly moving Connor, holding his hand and supporting his arm with Fauna secured in Connor's jacket pocket.

"Connor, you look like you've been put through a meat grinder!" Danny called to him.

"Thanks ever so. It feels like it," was Connor amused reply.

Abby watched them go and lingered where Danny was dishing up the food onto serving platters. "You look pretty as ever, by the way," Danny spoke, giving her a huge grin. He'd aged since she last saw him and even had a few gray hairs, but it was plain to see he was happy. Without a word, Abby approached and began helping him, taking up a new platter for him to dish up the eggs and tomatoes on to.

"Danny, listen, I just want to thank you for helping Connor, and me last night. It could have ended up a hundred times worse if you hadn't shown up when you did.," Abby spoke. Tilly's earlier words echoed in her head; both she and Connor could very easily have ended up dead in that alley like Tilly's mother.

"Digger and his gang have been causing trouble round here for months, robbing people, beating them half to death, doing what they like to women unlucky enough to encounter them," Danny said with venom. "When I heard the commotion outside, I was ready for 'em. Decided it was time someone gave them a taste of their own medicine. Couldn't believe it when I realized it was Connor they were beating up. Just what are you two doing here?"

Abby sighed. "You know that old saying about lightning never striking the same spot twice. It's rubbish. Actually, I know for a fact it is, Connor's already explained the science to me on that one. Nothing but time on our hands in the Cretaceous. It was a whole year stranded a hundred million years ago and here we are again, trapped the wrong side of an anomaly. We found our way after a couple of months. Would you believe we're working at a school for girls? It's actually brilliant, but Connor's trying to work out how to get us home."

"That have something to do with the clockworks Niall fetched last night?" Abby nodded. "If anyone can do it, it'll be Connor." Abby bit into her bottom lip, still unsure of how she felt about the prospect of returning home. Sensing her sudden unease, he changed the subject. "So that little girl?"

"Tilly, one our students. She's an orphan, like all the girls are. Connor even called her our little Oliver Twistasaurus this morning."

"Our?"

"I..." Again Abby didn't quite know what to say. Was Tilly still just a student to them? Abby knew the answer, though was reluctant to admit it. "She's special, Tilly. She means a lot to us."

"And the two of you finally..." He inclined his head and Abby smiled, even blushed.

"We've been married for a couple of years. We missed you on the day. Connor even mentioned you in his speech."

"I bet you looked beautiful."

"Not half as beautiful as your wife. Molly, eh? Does she know about your first love? The stick?" Abby smirked at him and he gave her a good natured glare, rising to her challenge.

"Watch it, Maitland."

"It's Temple. How did you end up here Danny?"

"Later," he said. "Lets eat first."

A short while later the Quinn family along with the Temples and Tilly were gathered around a large table down in the pub eating the breakfast Danny had prepared for them.

The twins were ensconced in stuffing their faces with scrambled eggs with their hands while Danny filled everyone's plates. He couldn't stop grinning at his guests and it was infectious. There was definitely a story to be told where he was concerned. There wasn't much conversation at first, as all were evidently hungry, but Abby took the time to observe the people around the table.

Tilly was close to Connor, who was cutting up pieces of sausage for her. The smile on his face and the affection in his eyes warmed her heart immensely. So much so, she reached out and stroked back of his head and smiled when his eyes went to hers. Tilly seemed very content to be doted on and looked at Connor like he'd captured the moon for her. Despite the bruises to his face and his blackened eyes, the loving warmth he exuded shone through.

Molly was beautiful, there was no denying it. She was young still, in her twenties, with flowing strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was voluptuous and full of fire and Danny looked at her with all the love and adoration Connor did with Abby. She had no qualms about bossing her husband about, but it was also evident that she loved him every bit as much as Abby loved Connor.

"How did you two meet?" Abby asked out of the blue. Molly's fork dropped from her hand and clattered to the plate. The look on her face was unreadable, but she was stunned. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, dearest, you didn't," Molly replied quickly, reaching across the table to pat Abby's hand. "It just wasn't under the best of circumstances is all. But he saved me, he did. And I can never thank him enough." She looked up at her husband with unshed tears in her eyes and leaned in to kiss him sweetly. "I can tell yah. It was both the best and the worst night of m'life." Danny kissed her temple and rubbed her back, a solemn look on his face. "Ah, it's all right, love," she spoke leaning into Danny before looking to Abby to tell her tale. "Four years ago, m'da died. I'd lost my mother when I was just seven, and he'd raised me up. He was good man, but not a rich one and when he passed, to pay his debts, they took the house and just about everything in it I couldn't carry out. I was sixteen and hadn't more then two pennies to rub together. I met a woman who said she could get me work in London. It wasn't much, but it was a new start. I was to be a chamber maid in a Gentleman's house. She paid for my passage on the boat along with two other girls.

There was a man, he looked proper enough, there to meet us when we docked. Da had always said I could read people, know if they were true or not. I don't know if the lady I met in Dún Laoghaire knew what she was sending us to, but I knew the second I laid eyes on the man that he was trouble. Something told me to turn and run, so I did. It didn't take long for the money I had to run out and I ended up a few blocks over from here and there I found the two girls I'd come over with, Katie and Shannon. They... well, the man, he'd..."

"Forced them into prostitution," Danny provided, his voice gruff.

"I was hungry, hadn't slept in a bed in days, hadn't felt warm... I was desperate. They sent me off with this man. I'd never... I knew what I had to do, but when the time came, I turned on him and he tried to force me."

"I'd heard her scream from up the street. Copper's instincts, knew there was trouble," Danny continued.

"Came in all fists and fury, he did, like a giant. Soon as I looked at him I knew I'd found my _anamchara._ My one and only." Their eyes met and Abby and Connor both could see it had been love at first sight. "Took me with him back to The Duchess, gave me a room, let me work for him, never asked a thing of me, not until he asked me to marry him."

"I know now why you two danced around each other for so long," Danny laughed, looking upon his friends. "I was bloody terrified she'd say no, even though we'd been in love for over a year. But then I thought about you and how it had been obvious how much you loved each other and still couldn't admit it, and how if Connor had just plucked up the courage to say something..."

"Oy, steady on, mate," Connor protested, though not truly offended. "I'll have you know I was the one who said _I love you_ first!"

"Yes, but then you took it back," Abby reminded him.

"Well, I was stupid wasn't I? I said it first in the Cretaceous too!"

"My point is," Danny interrupted. "I decided I couldn't let another moment pass without having Molly for my wife."

"Daft thing married me the next Sunday, in a church too. M'da would've been proud, would've loved him, if only for the free pints!"

"I knew I had to make a life here and to give up the notion of getting home. After Patrick... after I found him and did what I had to... it was him or me, you see," Danny swallowed and shuddered. "I buried him, said my goodbyes, I hopped through the next anomaly that opened and found myself at Tattenham Corner! I figured 1882 was as good a time as any. Found a bit of dosh, got lucky on a horse, cleaned myself up. Was a cabbie for a while before I came to the pub one day and never left. The old fella that owned the place took me under his wing and let me buy it off him so he could go live with his daughter down in Brighton. The rest is history. Except for Niall of course, caught him trying to sneak in the back to steal food, stupid git."

"Aye and you took him in and treated him like a son," Molly added, tugging at her husband's hair. "You're a good man Danny Quinn, and I love yah." The two kissed and leaned into each other. Abby wiped at her eyes, overwhelmed by the story and the love between their old friend and his wife. Her heart felt full to bursting. She couldn't have imagined a happier fate for Danny and there was no point in asking him if he ever wanted to return to the 21st century. He'd made happy life and home with a beautiful woman who adored him and had given him two beautiful, if not rambunctious, little boys.

She looked to Connor and Tilly and wondered if her and and Connor's fate could equal Danny's.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Given how tumultuous a night they'd spent, Connor and Abby hadn't given thought to the panic theirs and Tilly's absence would create back at the school. The sight of Connor's battered face, the bruise on Abby's and little Tilly clinging to them both, upset everyone. They'd arrived by cab after having taken the train and were quickly surrounded by very relieved and emotional friends and students. In fact there'd been a police detective and a pair of constables present who were about to begin investigating their disappearance.

Connor, tired as he was, took it upon himself to explain precisely all that had occurred. There was no reason to be evasive about the facts. His story about the small box of clockworks he had with him was perfectly believable as the tale he'd told Strauss. He spoke of the man called Digger and his gang, of a man called Danny Quinn coming to their rescue and giving them a safe haven for the night.

As to Tilly, she timidly admitted to following them, having snuck out and caught up with them in the alley where they'd been attacked. The detective had wanted her to explain herself further, but Abby quickly diverted attention from Tilly to asking the man if anything could be done about the gang after how they'd been terrorizing the area near Danny's pub. Abby was determined to protect Tilly from ever having to relive the memory of her mother's murder. Tilly had told herself and Connor and the secret and the shared sorrow, fear and pain of it all would remain with the three of them.

Two days later, after the police had spoken with Danny, they'd rounded up the man called Digger and his cronies, the lot of them were taken into custody. A day after that there were formal charges and an impending trial after several other victims of the gang's brutality had been spoken to and their complaints made. It seemed their reign over Battersea had come to an end.

It was after that someone came to call at the school. There were rarely visitors to the school, so their guest gained the attention of everyone. It was Danny and both Connor and Abby were elated to see him, welcoming him with hugs and smiles. Mrs. Davis shooed the others away and back to their business, but Tilly lingered at the top of the stairs, trying to listen to the conversation below in the foyer and keep out of sight. There was still a terrible knot in her stomach that wouldn't go away and even when Missus Abby held her it was still there.

"Came to say goodbye," Danny spoke, the smile on his face rather a sad one. "I know your anomaly home is opening soon and I couldn't just let you leave. I can't even begin to tell you two what it's done for me to see you again."

"Us too, Danny," Abby spoke, winding her arm around his waist to hug him. "Now don't give me a hard time for saying it like this, but you were our knight in shiny armour. If you hadn't been there, me, Connor and Tilly would've died and suffered god knows what beforehand."

Danny hugged his arm around her shoulders, then reached for Connor and did the same to him.

"Why don't you come with us?" Connor offered. "You, Molly and the twins. Think of how brilliant it would be to have your kids grow up in the 21st century! They could..."

"Connor," Danny spoke affectionately, silencing his friend. "You n' Abby are the most brilliant people I've ever known, but you two can handle adventures and time travel n' all that rot. I was never meant to. My whole life was about finding out what happened to my brother and once I did, and once I'd put him to rest, I'd just about gave up on living. I didn't have much left in me, with no home to go back to and just myself to talk to. I did a lot of thinking in those six months when it was just me, the homonids and the Terra Birds and then again in the weeks after Patrick before the anomaly here opened. Coming to this time, back to London, starting over, meeting Molly... It's given me all I never knew I wanted and needed. I could never leave. I love my life too much and besides, Molly would have my head for even suggesting it."

"Had to ask, didn't I? We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Do me a favour? Look me up when you get home, see if I turned out all right in the end?"

"We will, and we'll never forget you, ever," Abby said, a little teary eyed.

"Course not, I'm unforgtetable!"

!*!*!

On the third day, routine resumed at the school. Connor and Abby taught their classes, they all gathered for their meals and did their chores. Connor spent his evenings assembling his anomaly detector, working furiously under the impending deadline of when Greyson's equation told him the anomaly home would open. When Connor ensconced himself in their room at his desk, Abby left him to it and took Tilly with her into one of the less used sitting rooms in the house. The two would cuddle together as Abby read aloud from books while Tilly listened on in rapt attention. When a story had ended, quiet permeated the room and Abby would stroke her fingers through the little girl's hair as she lay her head down in Abby's lap and hugged her arms around her waist.

Connor eventually came in search of his wife, yawning and with a bit of a headache, desperate to hold his wife and sleep. He said nothing as he cradled Tilly in his arms and carried her back up the stairs to her bed. She'd wake, see who it was who held her and burrow in close against his chest and let herself fall back asleep.

It was one such night that Abby realized this loving, close bond she'd formed with the bright, willful, beautiful child was drawing to a close. The anomaly would open tomorrow evening and she and Connor would go back to the 21st century. The night before Connor had told her he'd done it, successfully completed his detector. The radio on the phone would pick up the disruption pattern and using the coordinates from the equation, they'd be as close as they could possibly get to finding it on their own.

"That's great Conn, knew you'd do it," was all she could muster, forcing a smile and then distracting him with a passionate kiss.

This last night she told him she needed sleep. They had a long day of waiting ahead of them and Abby knew it would be unbearable. Connor remained awake, scribbling letters of apology and explanation for their disappearance as well as to express their immense gratitude for all Mrs. Davis had done for them. Abby listened to the scratching of his pen across the paper for hours, unable to find any rest or peace. When he finally joined her in bed she managed to nod off, once his body formed to the back of hers and he held her. She took comfort in his strength and his warmth, knowing there'd be no peace for her the following day.

!*!*!

Abby knew she was under scrutiny from Mrs. Davis. She wasn't surprised. Abby knew her behaviour had been out of the ordinary. While Connor had written their letters, she was making certain to take a moment and speak with everyone, telling them how happy she was to know them, how grateful she was for their friendship. She talked with the students, reassuring them of their future and how bright it could be if they continued to apply themselves. Connor also observed her, frowning and sighing, knowing that others were confused by what she was doing. Abby couldn't quite bring herself to care. She needed to say her goodbyes in person, even if no one knew why. She needed to remember their names also. She knew it would be a double-edged sword to know, but she wanted to find out their fates after she'd returned to her own time.

The day was a cruel and heartbreaking one, and come nightfall Abby was a wreck. She kept it hidden, but her stomach was twisted in knots, her entire body ached and her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She'd barely stomached dinner and putting the girls to bed hadn't filled her with the usual sense of love and pride. There was only sadness. Finding Tilly waiting for her at the end of the hall nearly had her breaking down in tears.

"Missus Abby?" the child asked as Abby approached and reached for her hand.

"Yes Tilly?" she replied as Abby guided them downstairs to the sitting room.

"Why are you so sad?"

"I'm not sad now, because I've got you with me. What story would you like tonight? Fairy tales? Or maybe more of the Greek fables we started?" Tilly shook her head and wrapped her arms around Abby's waist, holding on so tightly Abby felt as if she was being crushed. The pair sat themselves down on the sofa and Tilly took up her usual spot with her head in Abby's lap and snuggled close. Abby began to stroke her fingers through Tilly's hair as she looked up at her with big blue eyes. As Tilly's eyes began to droop, Abby began to silently weep. The more she tried to stop herself from being overwhelmed, the more upset she became until tears were streaming down her cheeks. Tilly slept, content and safe in Abby's loving embrace.

"Abby," came Connor's whispered hiss at the door. She looked up from Tilly to him. He was dressed in the clothes they'd arrived in 19th century in. Jeans, tshirts and a leather jacket. He looked so out of place in the them. She hadn't pictured or remembered him like this in almost a year. It felt so very wrong. "It's time, the anomaly's probably opened by now..." His voice fell away upon realizing she was crying. He set down the satchel that hung from his shoulder. He approached and knelt before his wife. "Abby?"

"I can't," Abby sobbed. "I can't leave her, Connor. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love her. I love her so much."

"I..." Connor felt tears brimming in his own eyes. He reached up and cupped her cheek, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "I know. It's okay. To be honest, I didn't really think we'd be leaving anyway. I know you love her, like she was your own. I know this because I know you, Abby, and because I love her too."

"If you want, you can still..."

"You're not seriously going to finish that sentence are you?"

She choked on a sob and he captured her mouth for a deep, loving kiss, telling her all she needed to finally feel at peace. She and Connor would remain at the school, raise Tilly as theirs, have a baby, live out their lives and be content. It was the only thing they could do. They broke apart and Connor slumped to the floor in front of Abby and Tilly, resting his forehead on his wife's knee. Part of him was crushed, but another felt relieved. It didn't matter anymore whether they made it home. Home was wherever Abby and Tilly were.

"I'm sorry, Connor. I know you wanted to go home," Abby whispered.

"Doesn't matter, love," he replied, stroking her leg. "I love you both, you're all that matters to me."

"Missus Abby? Mister Connor?" came Tilly's small voice. Neither had noticed that she'd wakened. She looked back and forth between them, concerned etched deeply on to her innocent face. Her bottom lip trembled. She was confused by their conversation. They were leaving? Leaving her?

"Hush, baby," Abby soothed. "Never mind us. We were just talking."

"About going away?"

"We're not," Connor spoke, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "We're staying right here, with you, and we'll never leave. Promise."

"But... but if you want to go, can't I come with you instead?"

The idea of taking Tilly along had never occurred to either of them. They looked at each other quizzically, questioning the idea.

"It's okay, sweetheart. We've decided to stay. Don't worry yourself."

Her little face grew pensive and after a moment she sat up, eyeing them further. She reached out and took each of their hands in hers. "I just want to be with you," she said firmly. She looked Connor over and smiled. "Your clothes look funny."

Abby met her husband's face and together they smiled.

"Are you sure?" Connor asked, to both Tilly and Abby.

"Could we?" Abby questioned.

"I'm sure," said Tilly. "Please? Please?"

"We... we'll have to hurry," Connor ventured.

"I'll have to change clothes," Abby continued.

"I have to get Fauna!" Tilly finished enthusiastically. Connor leapt to his feet and scooped a giggling Tilly up into his arms, hugging her tightly. Abby wrapped her arms around them both and kissed them. The sudden levity in her heart was incredible. The anticipation and adrenaline rushing through her veins was like a drug. She couldn't have been more happy. They turned to quickly prepare for their journey back to the 21st century, only to find Mrs. Davis standing at the threshold of the door. The two adults stood in shocked silence.

"I won't keep you," the elderly lady spoke. "I know the portals don't stay open very long." Connor and Abby were stunned. Mrs. Davis smiled, a little sad, and continued. "I knew the moment I laid eyes on you. I hadn't seen jeans since I was fourteen years old. She held up the object in her hand. It was a Walkman. It was old, battered and the foam was missing from one headphones, but there was no mistaking it. "The batteries died over sixty years ago, but I can still remember the music, Prince's _Purple Rain_! It was 1984 and I was coming home from school and took my usual shortcut through the forest. I was curious and too many times I've wished I hadn't gone through. It closed right behind me and I was trapped. Had I not been found by the man who'd one day be my husband, there's no telling what might've happened to me. My name was Rosemary Elizabeth Watts, by the way. If my parents and my sister are still alive in the time you're returning to, could you tell them that I love them and I'm sorry?"

"Oh, Rosemary," Abby gasped, leaving Connor and Tilly to embrace her friend. She passed Abby the Walkman, and an envelope for Abby give to her family.

"I'm going to miss you, all three of you, but I do understand."

"Thank you, you saved us," Connor spoke, kissing the elderly lady on the cheek.

"Hurry now, you two, and take care of this little one." Mrs. Davis smiled at Tilly, still in Connor's arms. They said their goodbyes and as Tilly fetched her beloved plush rabbit from her bed, Abby quickly changed into her original clothing. Moment's later, Connor's satchel and its contents, including Fauna, rested on Abby's shoulder while he carried Tilly as they moved swiftly through the streets under the cover of darkness. As they entered the park they made their way to the spot where they'd arrived almost a year ago, Abby took Tilly from Connor as he activated his anomaly detection device. He'd been charging the mobile by clockworks for the past two days and the battery was at a half charge, more than enough to work properly. The radio app was tuned to the right station for detecting an anomaly and much to their relief the same rhythm of static as hoped for came through. The deeper they went into the park the stronger it became.

There was a light through the trees and the trio advanced. It was nearing ten o'clock, close to the time they'd arrived. The anomaly was near the same spot too, though closer to the bridge and unfortunately still suspended in the air.

Connor cursed under his breath. Abby set Tilly on her feet, but held firm to her hand as Connor relieved her of the satchel and placed the anomaly detector inside it. Tilly looked up at the anomaly in utter awe, much like Connor had the first time he'd seen one.

"What's it do?" she asked, reaching her hand up to touch it, though she was meters away.

"It's like a doorway," Abby explained. "On the other side is home. It's a kind of magic."

"Mister Connor would call it science!"

Abby squeezed her hand and smiled.

"Now we just have to figure out a way to get through. If we're insanely lucky, Toby'll have my dating calendar and Evan and the others will come through. That's if the anomaly's anywhere near Vancouver, and if they can get to it before it closes and..."

"Why don't we just jump off the bridge, Mister Connor?" Tilly interrupted. "I'm not scared. I'll hold your hand."

Connor offered her his hand and she grabbed it, striding forwards and pulling the other two behind her as she walked along the path towards the bridge. Tilly lost her courage when it came to climbing on to the balustrade of the bridge, seeing just how very high up they were and how big a jump they'd have to make to fall through the centre of the anomaly.

"C'mere, love," Connor spoke, lifting her up into his arms after he'd climbed up on the edge. Keeping his balance, he held Tilly securely and offered his hand to Abby, pulling her up with him. "Ready?" Abby and Connor tightened their grip, took a deep breath, and leapt.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Tilly cowered and held fast to Connor as they walked along the train tracks at the water's edge. She liked the looks of the big fir and cedar trees, and delighted at the pod of orcas breaching the surface of the ocean channel. Above them however was noisy and it scared her, though it seemed to make Connor and Abby smile. Connor had called them "cars" and explained that they were travelling along a road above. Cars were like carriages, but didn't require horses to pull them. Tilly didn't understand and turned her head back to the ocean. Eventually they came to a town, one Connor had seen before, called Britannia Beach. He explained to Abby that this was the place where he and Kieran had been detained after having been taken by force from the anomaly junction. It had nearly been their undoing. Coming home to London and to Abby had been an immense relief. He'd needed her desperately that night, the fear of nearly not being able to return home still gripping him.

Their arrival back to the 21st century had been a bit rough, all of them nearly toppling over as their feet landed hard on the ground and Connor almost dropping Tilly in the process. However, the relief of seeing the same tracks they'd disappeared on expanding both directions to the horizon and hearing the highway above was immeasurable. The anomaly above remained open for a few minutes longer before closing. They weren't certain they were in the right time, but it was modern civilization and that would have to do.

They crossed the highway, Tilly letting out a scream as someone beeped their horn at them as they sped past. It was summer, which it hadn't been when they'd left the 21st century in the first place. They made their way towards the greasy spoon diner, but thought better about going inside. It was packed with tourists on their way to Shannon Falls, Squamish or Whistler and Tilly seemed scared and upset by all the noise and the crowds of people. They sat themselves outside at a picnic table in the shade while Abby went inside with the Canadian dollars Connor still had in his wallet. Connor kept Tilly in his lap and rummaged around inside his satchel, passing Fauna to Tilly, who hugged her little friend close to her chest while continuing to cling to her protector. By the time Abby returned with chocolate milkshakes and chips for them, he'd already detached his mobile from the clockworks and placed a call to Evan at the Vancouver ARC.

!*!*!

The flat in Vancouver that Evan had provided them with looked out over the river with the brilliant lights of the city reflecting upon its surface under the moonlight and stars. There'd been quite a lot of tears from Tilly that afternoon and evening. The constant noise of vehicles and technology frightened her terribly and only Abby or Connor's hugs and kisses could calm her, but inevitably something else would come along to set her off again. Te journey in the car back into Vancouver had also made Tilly quite ill. Chips and a chocolate milkshake along with motion sickness didn't sit well with a little girl who was already very scared. Her first day in a new world was an upsetting one and she clung fiercely to her new parents. It would take much time and cajoling to help her adapt to the world. She was a brave girl and would find her way with much love and patience. They had to bond as a family and help their would-be daughter. The idea of taking her on an airplane back to London was not one either Connor or Abby looked forward to.

Much like their sojourn into the Cretaceous, time on this side of the anomaly had passed very much as theirs had. It had been one year since they'd disappeared. One year in which both ARCs had been scouring the history books, censuses and libraries searching for any sign of their lost friends. There'd been no record of them and Connor and Abby hadn't been surprised. Their lives at the school had been encapsulated and isolated. In time they'd find out what happened to their girls and their friends. They had a promise to keep to Danny Quinn too. All that could wait however.

Abby sat on the sofa in the living room with Tilly curled up in her lap. The little girl was feeling better after the nice lady called Toby had given her something called a Gravol along with a ginger ale to quell her upset stomach. Abby actually felt rather guilty that on their first day in the 21st century they'd already given Tilly junk food, made her sick, scared and had to give her medication. It was a rough start, for sure. The new clothes that Dylan and Toby had got her however did make her smile, especially the sleep shirt with the picture of a big fat fluffy cartoon bunny on it. Connor and Abby gave her soup for dinner and now Tilly only wanted to be held. Abby knew Tilly must be wondering what terrible and frightening place she'd been brought to, but she was safe with her and Connor and little Fauna was a good friend to cuddle. Meanwhile Connor was speaking on a phone, which Tilly wasn't terribly familiar with, but Abby had explained how it worked. She yawned and snuggled against Abby, who began humming a lullaby. Tilly was just dozing off when suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around her and a kiss was bestowed to her cheek.

"Getting sleepy, lovey?" came Connor's deepened voice in her ear. Tilly smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Mister Connor," came her quiet reply.

Connor took her hand in his and lay it over Abby's, holding them both in his own. "Tilly? If it's okay with you, I rather you stopped calling me Mister Connor from now on, and maybe you shouldn't call Abby, Missus Abby either." Connor didn't employ his usual dramatic pause, knowing how fragile their little girl was, but immediately spoke the words that would change all their lives forever. "If you like, you can start calling us Mummy and Daddy instead."

Tilly gasped, turning her head and looking up at the two of them with wide eyed shock. Her bottom lip began to tremble and tears came to her eyes. She'd never had a father before, and though she remembered her mother, it was only in the abstract save for her final moments. She remembered her mother's kisses and being held and cuddled, but her voice had faded from memory as had the details of her face. Every girl at the orphanage had dreamed of having someone to love them, to be their mummy and daddy. Tilly had been taunted and told she was too horrible to ever be loved, to ever be rescued and given a home.

She was too stunned to know what to say.

"Tilly?" came Abby's soft voice and Tilly looked to her and into her kind, blue eyes. "Tilly, I love you. Can I be your mummy?" All the little girl could do was nod her head. "And Connor your daddy?"

"I love you, Tilly," Connor spoke solemnly, then a huge grin spread out across his face. "Tilly Temple. I like the sound of that, what do you think?" Tilly sniffed and nodded her head vigorously, still crying, still not able to speak. Connor leaned in and bopped his finger on the end of her nose, making her smile, then he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You're ours now, Tilly, you're our daughter and we will take care of you, love you and never let you be alone again. That's a promise."

!*!*!

Half an hour later, Tilly slept deeply in the big bed in the spare room next to the master suite. The effects of the medication she'd been given would no doubt help her sleep through till morning. She was exhausted to begin with from her journey from 1887 to 2014. So much had happened in this single day and in a few days they'd be on a flight back to England. Connor had spoken with Lester and made arrangements for a Birth Certificate and Passport for Tilly to be couriered to Vancouver to them as soon as possible. Evan had forwarded photos Toby had taken of the girl to the ARC to initiate the process. Having friends in secret branches of the government certainly had its advantages.

Abby sat at Tilly's side watching her sleep with Fauna clutched firmly to her chest. She felt the bed dip and Connor embrace her, resting his chin on her shoulder and laying his cheek to hers.

"Looks like we're parents, Abbs," he whispered. Abby made a happy noise and leaned back against him. "She looks like you, you know? No one will have trouble believing she's yours."

"Ours. She might not look like you, but you two are very similar in lots of ways. I don't think anyone will have trouble believing she's yours either."

"Good thing... since I told Lester to make her our biological daughter."

"What?" Abby was shocked, but she didn't mind the notion. In fact, it made her quite happy to think of Tilly having been theirs all along.

"It just felt right. For her and for us. But, thing of it is..." A rather mischievous smile appeared on his face,"You'll have to start telling people that you slept with me four weeks after we met and that's when we conceived Tilly."

"Oh someone thinks very highly of himself."

Connor shrugged and tightened his arms around her. "Feel free to tell them it was the most incredible night of your life and you weren't surprised in the least that I'd got you pregnant on the first go."

Abby giggled and turned to kiss his lips. She rose and took his hand. They looked upon their daughter one last time and Abby guided them away, leaving the little girl to a peaceful night's rest. Connor's hands settled on her hips as they entered the master suite. Their bed at the school had been quite small, though always cosy. Before them was a lush king-sized bed and the anticipation of celebrating their homecoming suffused them.

"She's going to need a lot of love and patience, and for us to be there for her. This might be the last time for a while. Might want to try and get me pregnant on the first go!" She turned around in his arms and wound hers around his neck, drawing him in for a deep and sensual kiss that aroused him instantly. He moaned into her mouth, twinning her tongue with his, caressing and devouring. Clothes were discarded quickly as their kissing became hungry and desperate. The tumbled on to the bed, rolling together as hands manipulated and bruised soft flesh.

They swallowed each other's cries as Connor entered her, pushing her to her limits as he filled her completely. Abby shook beneath him, her core clamping down around him. Fuelled by adrenaline and the absolute joy at having returned home, they abandoned themselves to each other, moving together in a familiar but always ecstatic dance. Ravenous with their kisses, they pushed and pulled and undulated together. Neither lasted long, Connor seized and emptied himself inside her in heavy pulses while his release brought on hers. Feeling his heat flood over her, she joined him, her muscles clenching around him as her entire body tingled and sparked with pleasure.

As they calmed, they clung to each other in a fierce embrace, feeling their love course between and through them. They stayed together, still kissing until Connor relaxed and sighed, resting his forehead to hers.

"Just the beginning, love," he spoke, a smile appearing on his face. "Want to make love to you all night."

"Little children wake up early in the morning, especially ones that are used to getting up with the sun," Abby laughed lightly, kissing his top lip. "Our lives have changed, Connor, but for the better, I think." She caressed his bare back, stroking up and down with her hands while he hugged his arms around her and held her close. Her legs hooked over the back of his and they lay contentedly, savouring their union as they spoke in hushed tones.

"Do you suppose all this, this past year, was fate? So we could find Tilly and adopt her?"

In the past, Abby had never been certain about the notion of fate and destiny, but ever since Connor had some into her life, she'd stated to. Because of him, she believed in soulmates.

She smiled up at him, bringing her hands up over his shoulders and neck to finally cup his face. "Yeah, Conn, I do. She's ours, she was meant to be ours. She's our little girl now and always will be. I might not be her natural mother, or you her natural father, but she's as much a part of us as if she was."

"I know what you mean. I feel the same way. I've always wanted to be a dad and Tilly's... she's special, she's lovely. I promise I'll be a good dad."

"I know you will, Connor. You'll be a wonderful father to all our children."

The smile on his face deepened, knowing that they'd give Tilly a sibling one day in the near future. He buried his face at her neck and began nipping and sucking upon her. Abby gasped sharply and bit into her bottom lip as she felt his cock swell and harden within her once more. Their second coupling was far less hurried, moving together slowly, Connor drawing pleasure out of his wife with long, sure strokes that had her whimpering and writhing in a pleasure so intense it bordered on painful. Her nails dug into his sweat dewed back, leaving little crescent shaped indents. Her hot pants for breath were glorious to his ears and the way her core tensed and tightened around him with each and every thrust brought him incredible pleasure of his own.

Their eyes met and locked together, the intensity of the stare connecting them to each other even more powerfully than their joined bodies. They breathed in each other's breath and understood once more how great and deep their love was and how far it had yet to go as they made their family and its future. Time stood still for them, even as their bodies were overwhelmed with orgasmic ecstasy and they tumbled together into the abyss. There seemed to be no end to it and only did so when sleep claimed them and even then, they continued on in their dreams.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It hadn't been easy, not at first. Tilly had cowered and held fast to Connor for protection for the first few weeks, especially right after they'd got themselves back home to London. The airplane journey from Vancouver to London had been terrible, with Tilly spending half of it in the arms of one parent or another, quietly sobbing, shaking and crying. She didn't like any of it. When she begged them to all go back to the school, it broke Connor and Abby's heart in two and they were certain they'd done the worst thing possible in taking her from her natural time. Unlike Emily, who'd adapted beautifully, Tilly was a young child whose life had been one tumultuous upheaval after another. The only comfort for Connor and Abby came from Tilly calling them _Mummy _and _Daddy. _Her birth certificate read _Mathilda Rosemary Temple_ and her father was Connor Temple and her mother, Abby Maitland. They were her parents now and they'd take care of her as best they could.

Upon arriving home to London, things didn't much improve. Tilly didn't understand at first how much their city had changed, but Connor and Abby made a concerted effort to help their daughter find parts of London she did recognize. Some of the parks looked the same, as did some of the street and the houses. They found the school and were pleased to find it still looking very much as it had in the Victorian Era, though it was now a private residence.

What helped Tilly adapt the most was being with her new Mummy and Daddy and their friends, especially three in particular - Sid, Nancy and Rex. The only time the little girl seemed content was when she was with her parents and their pets. The house Connor and Abby had purchased shortly after their wedding was big enough for all of them and had an enclosed garden where Tilly could play. Little by little they helped her adapt. Connor continued to be her teacher, knowing that eventually she would have to attend school like any other child. They took her to the park and playground in an attempt to help her make friends her own age, but it was not to be. She was still too timid.

Connor and Abby had immediately retired from active duty at the ARC. Tilly continued to be their priority and after a leave of absence, Connor resumed his involvement in a research capacity. Greyson's book proved to be a fount of information and spun Connor's creative mind into infinite new scientific pursuits. He was well on his way to being not only able to predict when future anomalies would occur, but being able to discover the pattern that enabled Greyson to map the anomalies just as Cutter had begun to. It didn't go over anyone's head that the one who eventually would create the digital hologram found in the artefact would be Connor, but just because he would one day be its creator, it did not mean that it would bring about the same future as Matt had known.

Still, questions remained and discoveries were yet to be found. There was a lifetime of work ahead of him, but a change had come over him. Anomaly research was no longer the calling it once was, no longer the driving force of his life. Tilly and Abby were. For Abby's part, she remained with Tilly in the beginning, bonding as mother and daughter. The creatures in the menagerie were already being cared for beautifully and she wasn't necessarily needed. She had it in mind that perhaps after Tilly was settled, she'd finish her the zoology degree she'd been working on when her life had done its one hundred and eighty degree turn when she'd first gone to the Forest of Dean. After that perhaps a veterinary practice specializing in reptiles and ophidians would suit her. The future was wide open and the only sure thing was her marriage and her and Connor loving their new daughter. Abby had been reflecting upon the past few years of the lives of her family when she felt a tug upon her trousers. Abby looked down and a smile instantly spread across her face.

"Mummy up!" the chubby little toddler bade, reaching her arms up as high as she could, even standing on the tips of her toes. With her blanket clutched in her hand she grabbed at her mother's shirt, almost as if to begin to climb. Abby gazed upon her precocious daughter, looking into the dark brown eyes that were identical to her father's, seeing the same plaintive, pleading gaze that made it impossible to deny. Abby sighed and reached down, groaning as she lifted the child up into her arms. At nearly two, Nicola was almost too big to carry around, especially with Abby in the condition she was. Halfway through her second pregnancy, she was preparing herself for trying to cope with raising three children. Three girls in fact. In a three months time, they'd be welcoming a third daughter. Connor was beside himself in gleeful anticipation. Nicola sighed, utterly content and happy, snuggling against her mum's neck and murmuring _Mummy_ in the most sweetest of voices. Round little limbs encased Abby and she couldn't hold back the smile that came to her face. Abby caressed the thick dark tendrils of her baby's hair and hugged her daughter tight.

"She learned that from Daddy," Tilly laughed. "The pair of them are master manipulators. He gives you the same look whenever he wants a cuddle." Four years on, Tilly had settled into life as a girl growing up in the 21st century better than she and Connor had originally expected during her first difficult year. Dressed in coloured denim with a zig-zagged patterned t-shirt and Chuck Taylor's on her feet, Tilly looked as if she fit right in with any other twelve year old. The streak of turquoise in her blond hair and the iPod permanently attached to her hip added credence to the notion.

"I can't help it, they're both so... so..."

"It's okay, you can say it. They're adorable. Aren't you Nicki?" Tilly gave her little sister a kiss upon her cheek and the baby giggled, hiding her face in Abby's hair. "When's Daddy going to be home? He said he wanted to leave by four and it's quarter past already. We still have to load the car."

As if on cue the front door of the house opened followed by Connor bellowing, "I'm back!" He sailed into the living room and tossed the keys to the SUV to Tilly who took charge of getting the luggage secured. He first pulled her into his arms for a quick hug and a kiss to her forehead. She hugged him back, always welcoming her father's affection, knowing how much he loved her.

"Sid, Nancy and Rex settled?" Abby asked as Connor approached.

"Yep! All cosy in the menagerie at the ARC, wondering why they can't come with us on holiday," he replied. He leaned in and captured her lips for a kiss, as always pouring the passionate love he had for her into it. One hand was instantly drawn to her rounded middle, pressing firmly against it and being rewarded by a ripple of movement beneath his palm as the baby kicked. His other hand rubbed Nicola's back and when he and Abby parted he turned and kissed his daughter's chubby cheek.

"Daddy!" she giggled, turning in her mother's hold and throwing her arms around his neck. He took her from Abby and hugged his little darling as he positioned her on his hip.

"Have you got everything, love?" he asked his wife, his hand returning to where their daughter-to-be was nestled. "Merriweather included?"

Abby's eyes widened and she quickly looked around the couch, letting out a sigh of relief when she found the little plush bunny that was Nicola's constant companion. She'd have been inconsolable without it. She offered the little white and pink rabbit to her daughter who grabbed it and held it to her chest possessively along with her blanket.

"All ready to go," Abby said. "I confirmed our reservation at the Bed and Breakfast and that we'll be arriving after dark. There's a pub in the village where we can stop at for supper. Everything's locked up and shut off for while we're gone."

"Mummy! Daddy! Time to go!" Tilly called from the front door, eager to get to their destination, knowing what awaited them there. Connor and Abby shared an affectionate look before following after their eldest.

The three hour drive into Somerset was fairly uneventful and they'd missed the crush of the traffic to get out of London by leaving late in the day. Tilly had kept Nicola entertained with stories and cuddles the bulk of the time until the toddler fell asleep and Tilly plugged herself in to her iPod. Abby relaxed and Connor drove, their conversation consisting mostly of their work schedules winding down in anticipation of the baby's arrival. It was nothing short of amazing how quickly Connor's work had advanced in the past two years. Toby Nance and Evan Cross had come over from Vancouver for six months a year after Nicola had been born and during that time the three scientists had developed the most advanced system for the prediction, tracking and control of the anomalies to date. In fact, they were so successful that things had become rather dull compared to how their lives used to be. The Temples were actually rather relieved. Their family had become the focus of their lives and they'd not have it any other way.

Their dinner at the pub had left them feeling stuffed to the gills and they'd arrived at the Bed and Breakfast sleepy and looking forward to a quiet few days in the countryside. The home they'd be spending the next two nights at was a Victorian country house and reminded them of the school more than a hundred years past. It was expensive, but worth it as it was a special weekend for Connor and Tilly in particular. Abby's only ambition was to keep Nicola her usual jolly little self and cuddle and play whilst trying to relax as she advanced into her third trimester of pregnancy. They'd already named their little one Sarah and the whole family couldn't wait to meet her.

Abby gave Nicola a bath and got her dressed in her pyjamas while Tilly and Connor organized and unpacked the luggage in the two bedrooms of their suite. Afterwards they dressed warmly and the family ventured out across the fields at the back of the property. Guided by torchlight they walked just far enough so that the lights of the house were still visible in the distance but darkness surrounded them. After Connor had laid out the blankets and cushions they'd brought with them, Abby lay a sleepy Nicola down and lounged beside her under a blanket, gently stroking her fingers through her baby's lush hair.

Meanwhile Connor and Tilly went to work setting up the telescope they'd brought with them. It was in fact Tilly's telescope, bought for her birthday a month ago. They had no idea when her actual day of birth was or even how old she truly was. Connor had decided in his first conversation with Lester to make it that late summer's day they'd returned to the present and taken Tilly as theirs.

Father and daughter shared a great love and fascination with astronomy and for Abby it reminded her of the Gallileo exhibition and how it had changed the course of their lives in the Victorian Era and eventually brought them to this moment.

Abby had so many plans and hopes for her daughters and their family. They wanted to take Tilly and the girls to the Galapagos Islands one day, but probably not until she was in her teens and they were done having children. There wasn't a limit at the moment and they could see themselves having another one after baby Sarah. Most of all she wanted them to be happy and to grow up knowing that she and Connor loved them beyond any measure.

Nicola stirred and inched closer to her mum until she was half laying on top of her. She yawned and made a contented little sound as they snuggled as she fell back asleep. Abby toyed with her baby's hand, rubbing her palm with the pad of her thumb as she watched Connor and Tilly assemble the final pieces of the telescope.

"There, well done, lovey," Connor spoke, giving Tilly a pat on the shoulder. "Want me to adjust it for you?"

"Yes, Daddy," she replied, looking up at the sky. The stars were out and it was nearly dark enough for the real show to begin. Within the hour there'd be showers of silver as meteors streaked through the skies in what promised to be one of the most prolonged and impressive heavenly displays. After a few minutes Connor stood back and let Tilly have his place. Abby heard their daughter's gasped exclamation of "Wow!" as soon as she looked through the lens up at the night sky.

Connor kissed to top of Tilly's head and rested his hands on her shoulders, looking beyond the telescope up at the sky. "You know something?" he began.

"What's that?" she asked, still peering through the lens, hoping to catch the first glimpse of the meteor shower.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me and your mum." Connor smiled at her softly spoken reply of _"Me too, Daddy." _It reminded him of the little girl he'd first encountered. He was a bit sad to see her growing up, but she'd come so far in her confidence and in herself that he couldn't help but be proud of her. She'd grown into a caring, sensitive, intelligent girl who loved astronomy and animals and whose best friend was a boy called Patrick Quinn who she'd met on her first day at school. There was no mistaking who his parentage was, not with his lopsided grin and ginger hair. It had taken Connor only a few minutes on the internet to find out for certain. His great-great-great-great-grandfather was of course Danny Quinn, who lived to the ripe old age of 87 and was blessed with seven children by his beloved wife Molly. He'd been a happy man, they said, who was always lucky with betting on cricket matches and had left his offspring and their children quite an inheritance. The Duchess pub had changed hands over the years, but had recently been bought back by the family by Patrick's father, who had it in mind to restore it to the glory in which his ancestor had owned and operated it.

Over time they managed to find out what happened to most of those they'd known at the school. Louise had taken the reigns at the school after Rosemary had passed away. The school had continued on for another generation after Louise had gone. One of the pupils Connor and Abby had mentored returned to see their dear Mrs. Davis' legacy continue on. But, little by little as the world changed around them, the school closed and the estate was sold. As sad as it was, there was joy in knowing there were still generations of women of influence born from what they'd once been a key part of. They were glad to see that their leaving hadn't been its undoing.

They had no regrets, not when their lives had become so full of love and family. They were at peace.

Connor left Tilly to the cosmos and returned to where Abby reclined against the cushions and Nicola snored with Merriweather clutched firmly in her hand as it rested on Abby's stomach. He eased down beside them, wrapping his arm around Abby's shoulders and pulling her near. He caressed their daughter's cheek with the back of his hand before settling it upon where Sarah was growing. Under the starlight they shared a kiss, one that calmed their spirits at the same time as awakening every wonderful emotion their hearts could conjure. As they parted, Connor hugged her close and whispered his love against her ear and she said the words back to him. She lay her head to his chest and together they watched the heavens fall around them, safe, together, and as sure as the stars in the sky, soul mates.

The End


End file.
